Hot Wheels Darth Vader Car - Jay Leno's Garage

welcome to the episode of Jay Leno's Garage this week's up a little bit different eras in Toys R Us and I saw the new Star Wars Darth Vader car have you seen this very cool the new Hot Wheels car I like Hot Wheels but you know as you get older you realize you ever outgrow Hot Wheels then they get smaller and smaller so what you want to do is maybe go to the real Hot Wheel car this is it right here that's the cool thing about having this kind of job you call up Mattel and say listen the little one is fine but any chance we could get the real Hot Wheels car here and it's a real car this is a real Darth Vader car it drives it goes around corners we'll drive it a little bit later let's meet the man responsible design of this car a Brian Benedict Brian come on in now you have the chief designer Hot Wheels right yeah I'm senior staff designer okay and we go back a long way yes we do you came to my garage years ago as a student so that's not cool back at Art Center yeah so see this you have to be nice to everybody never know who's gonna make it and become a big deal so that's right he became a big deal and you worked for Honda for a number of years yes Hot Wheels yeah I was in the car industry for 10 years before coming to hollows okay so when did they do you see the movie how does it work yeah so we really built this car to celebrate our new collaboration with Lucasfilm in 2014 we launched a whole new line of Star Wars product we built this car as a full-size fully functioning high-performance car and displayed it at comic-con 2014 to really kick off that partnership and get people excited about what we're doing in here now it's not actually in the film correct no the cars not in the films like your name yes exactly exactly well it does look a little like Darth Vader yes that's the idea so the whole thing with our character cars we this whole world of character cars that we've developed and they are really meant to be a vehicular expression of popular characters that everyone knows the Hickey allure Express well you know what I like the most is the fact that when I was a kid there was a concept car there'd be a block of wood under the hood or you know it would just be sitting on so yeah exactly like the fact that you actually make the effort to design and build a real car yeah that's pretty cool yeah any time we build a car for hot was we've built a number of full-size cars we always make sure it's a fully functioning car right you know because we're hot was okay we make those cars in the world now you're the designer not the builders that's right yeah as a designer it's just one things where you do a sketch you show it to Lucas man doesn't know we like and you go back oh dude you do a finish one and then present it to them and this is our interpretation yes so there is working with a licensor like Lucas film there is a you know we have to go through approval process right fortunately with this car they approved the first design we showed them oh yeah we we showed them in the sketch face right we said submit that for approval they're like yeah cool that's awesome let's do it and then and then we have to submit at this scope space as well so initially we sculpted you know the little 1:64 scale car we'll get that approval on that and then and then we decided to build a full-size one and we got approval on that as well and what are your parameters obviously it has to be black of course okay are there certain things oh it's got to be a closed car we don't want an open I mean yeah so so when I'm designing these character cars I try to figure out the best vehicle type that's going to you know represent that character not only the way the character looks like his costume and and and details of the suit but also like his personality you know what he's like his backstory coming right and so I wanted to create a car that would had presents right you know because I I had to actually a whole key a bunch of key words posted on my computer as I was designed with the key word so like powerful menacing strong performance you know I feel like performance had to be a strong element of of what you still want something mrs. Mader could take to the store yes it's gotta be packing up so mrs. Vader used to pick up the kids exactly that's why the to see or whatever yeah and so and then we tried to capture all the key elements that people know and love about the character you know that you see his shoulder cowling right you see you know elements of the helmet but not done in at such a literal way that it's dopey you know in fact I was it's interesting that the cars parked right here because I was actually heavily inspired by the begadi Atlantic oh that's in the way I treated the roofline in it right so try to pick up those authentic automotive cues but you know so capture the character elements in it now does the intake breathe like Darth Vader you gotta have that yes exactly we actually do have Vader sounds in the car oh really yes now how about the wheels now the wheels are these I don't think I've ever seen these these are custom to the car yeah these are custom wheels built by MHT specifically for us for this car no no I hear it now yes there you go bring it back I don't know stop wheezing so tell me about the wheels the wheels have yeah so of course they wouldn't be complete without the Imperial logo right yes got to identify our allegiance to the Empire here you're also gonna see the Imperial logo on the inside as well as stitched into the seats and on the steering wheel but yeah so there's little details like that that really you know bring bring dark to life even the the side pipes are quite reminiscent of Darth Vader's lightsaber okay oh okay I see it's more life saber than because because theoretically we wouldn't know how it was powered I mean I know this v8 yes it could be sort of photon tube exactly hyperdrive what's Brian let me ask you about the design of the front end here yeah because obviously this looks like Darth Vader so explain what we have here what what cues have we taken from yeah so obviously you see darts iconic mask here right and the the main mask shape executed in the grille we've even actually added a nice little Hot Wheels touch we've got hot was lugs if you zoom in close oh no that is the Hot Wheels yes yeah so the openings are actually the hot was logos so just a nice little nod to our brand you know and then we got the the triple headlights situation set up here to really mimic you know the look of his screw tips on the tips of his mask right and then also the central nostril on there and these actually are fully functioning so the screw tip chair act as the headlights and also the turn signals now the Darth Vader use turn signals or no I'm well when he's driving to the state of California he asked her okay so yeah so yeah so we've designed this in such a way that it's fully functioning so we have a headlight projecting from the front of the screw tip and then the turn signal reflected from the backside it looks almost like a Fuhrer style body my monteverde has a oh yeah shark mouth kind of front end to this and what episode of Star Wars is this the plate for this is actually from the Empire Strikes Back and yeah I love the fact that you have real Hollywood props from the actual film in the car yeah so we really wanted to this particular build we wanted to represent the Empire Strikes Back version of Darth because that is really Darth the movie that the Star Wars movie that everybody thinks of Darth Vader yeah and and so so in executing the way we execute the details we wanted to capture that particular version of it right we have other geckos that we've done that we sell in the one six for scale where it captures other episodes let me ask you something like Billy is our is the guy who actually builds the car yeah do you ever say to yourself man Billy's gonna hate me I want this open yeah yeah there was a little bit of that you know but it was actually really healthy discussion we had around these things healthy healthy discussion Billy and I worked really well together and it was great coming up to a shop you know on a regular basis and just you know working out some of these details and one of the things like you mentioned I really wanted to do is have the way the car opens up actually reflect the way you see his helmet dropped down into his body in the movie it's such a dramatic scene when you see that helmet and that there's the mist and everything and so I wanted to sort of capture that and and so it was quite an engineering feat to actually get this to work in fact a lot of people think they look at this car they're like well it can't be a real car cuz there's not even a way to get into it right you don't see any door cuts or anything but so I wanted that to be really seamless but you have it all in your head before it's bill or you become like the lady with the movers no I don't like it there no Billy I mean I mean yeah you you've got it down before you stop yeah yeah definitely but I mean you know I think some people think designers are that way anyway like they're always wanting to make last-minute change and maybe I'm guilty of that a little bit you know a little bit but I think I think I really did have a vision for the car from the beginning well it's a it's a great vision and it's it's I mean if I knew nothing about if I don't know what it was I would say it looks like Darth Vader's car if you just parked it on the street I'll say well especially with the helmet and the way the windshield goes well let's meet the man who actually thought of put it on put it on the road hey thanks a nice job right Billy come on in come on in here Billy how you doing Billy hammer right cool you've done a lot of these Hot Wheels yeah this is our I believe 14th car that we've done less yeah yeah okay so is this the most are they all drivable like they're all drivable some of them have set world records over the past few years we did the world's longest jump and we did the loop at the x-games double dare loop but this is the most recognizable I think this is the ones been all over the world's been to Germany it's been Mexico it's been everywhere so only one of these only one of them correct now something I think is very cool well can we open sure how the door absolutely let's see when you have a remote there yes wow you're not a hurry to get out okay and you can't open it from the inside as well oh you can yes all righty and then the cow goes up yeah yeah pretty cool now something that's now this will get the star war geeks going crazy tell us about what we have well the light saber that actually came from one of the episodes though yeah that was that's original lightsaber original lifesaver okay from the film yeah so that's what forty years old yeah yeah it's okay and then what we did there too is you'll see the handle yeah um that's actual turn break so we have a separate caliper on the rear oh so you can do handbrake turns yep okay we had to move the steering over there's a lot of stuff a lot of modifications to the actual C c6 Corvette okay so we start with a c6 chassis yep so you so with street-legal car for all intents and purposes it's a we body Corvette probably model heavily modified yeah we had we had to take Brian's designs yeah and create that design before we even knew you know get the sizing right get the wheelbase right all right chassis but then also fit everything to work with his vision and what that what the toy was nothing you have this I like that I it didn't occur to me it's the light I'd save her side pleasure very good tell us about the wheels the wheels come from image she actually did a design for us and actually built them you know we built this car in two months so they shut things down for us and actually hand-built these wheels and you know the offsets are all made for this actual design for the for the body and the body is a carbon fiber carbon fiber yeah fiberglass we you know we take and we do a five access carving of the whole thing in foam and then we build our molds from there and then everything is you know our parts were built okay is it like 3d printing you start with a smaller version then you just know we actually start with Brian's small version yah his Hot Wheels you know with that Hot Wheels and in his sketches and we go from there Wow okay we're trying to you know Brian's over at the shop once a week you know looking at all the different different lines I mean to get everything perfect you know there's a lot of times where he would I would say Brian will get that in pay well get him painting and I know why he did it now because that the lines just pop when they you know and you have to get them perfect now is this your chassis of choice or do you sometimes use a Mustang base or Camaro but we build them ourselves as well too yeah yeah but but no Corvette was so small Corvette fit the lines right right oh that you know I think he Brian had that not that idea in mind when he was actually building designing was a Corvette chassis so right yeah and they must have gone crazy comic-con they loved it it was it was a really big hit there what am I looking at this well the whole idea for the inside you know we kind of want to do a little bit more but this is kind of you know his inside of his helmet so I kind of created that whole brain looking thing just to give it some you know so in a race between this and the Batmobile who would windy I think which probably all pick one I don't know the tumblr tumblr I think this would win this would win yeah for sure yeah but the tumblr can go over stuff so it's right this I don't know depends on what we're street one of those philosophical for accident I think philosophers will debate for years right for years to come so but I think this I think Darth could drive this better than yeah anybody's home well I just love the fact that it's a real car that's what makes it kind of fun you know I you can actually it moves and drives because years ago everything now is different than it was years ago years ago you can get away with fooling people and just tell them it had this right right now they they want to see it move and drive and and do all those things and that's what makes it really really cool and that's one big thing Mattel's also adamant on is making sure it does yeah cuz if people come up and ask the question now they ask is it drivable I want you have to you know if you say no they're gonna keep walking but now what's the inspiration for this piece is it that Darth Vader or is it just a clever piece of engineering you like to do no it's Darth Vader I mean what we had to do is take again the hall was designed right and and make that work with with draw you know make it drivable as well you had to get in and out so that just helps us get in and out of the car by night let's put the top down so we can see what it looks like from the back and that's supposed to be the way is helmet comes yeah it's supposed to be a helmet comes off we it's kind of tricky because to get it to actuate right and do everything we have to do with the tires being so big right right getting it so low and stuff we really had a little big engineer feet so you know we so no rear view mirror no written no weirdo right no okay cuz it looks like the natural place needs to be maybe some sort of tinted glass yeah we just thought that took away from the helmet aspect of you know and there was a lot of talk about that and Brian you know didn't want to do it so this new I didn't either because it looks great without no it looks great now we put rearview mirrors on so we could see that so yeah I like the fact that it's all black and I have to find these lines here to ak7 you know a gold stripe or somebody to you know write which is kind of cool and so it's got diffusers yeah in fact those are actual carbon fiber diffusers weave and oak so that's real carbon that's not the Corvette ones right no no no and we actually change the exhaust comes out the metal instead of the side so a lot of you know there's a lot of you know modifications to the chassis to make it work right right okay so the side exhausts are not functional Thomas no okay we should just made them lightsabers they could take them off yeah yeah then you know a little road rage you get out big tires yes in fact if you notice to these are red lines so I there's a company that I only one company still does it that we can actually take tires and have the red lines cut into them okay so it's the power signature tire well that was a hot when I was a kid you get you GTO with the red lines and that was like the hot seat yeah yeah yeah so now to have those made so I have a company that actually takes any tire I need and and makes those for me can we take a ride absolutely really well that's cool see so well you guys are playing with this Hot Wheel I'll be playing with that huh oh yeah yeah like I'm gonna George Barris as custom car yeah exactly but just for evil yeah feels like a Corvette and evil Corbin the first car they built was it that surf wagon kind of thing going on yes like 15 years ago I drove something yes that's what I want to be yeah yeah they are that's right that's right yeah back in his fifties Dodgeville macoco the Dajjal afem for women came with a matching raincoat and pocketbook and the outfit match the car so that kind of like gods Raider coming down in DC somebody it's a Star Wars guy wait a minute what's that I guess you don't fight crime with a drug to commit crime right so that's a different you always thinking about fit all your fighting crime or they well let's open it all the way up now obviously when I'm gonna do a Burnout because a it's Darth Vader's car nobody wants to get him bad and second of all this is a one-off prototype the fact that it drives at all is pretty cool but the thing that has renewed my faith and dark Vader thing he's not truly evil he drives a stick look it's got a manual shift it's a six-speed see far far away and her years ago and again whatever that is she back then they didn't have automatic transmissions that didn't come out until I hold the last third so honey thousand years ago in a galaxy far away they still had to use the stick so that's why this is actually pretty authentic but it's actually pretty cool you know it's so funny about driving this in LA some people went crazy when they saw other people I maybe they just don't you know they're looking at the cellphones they just don't notice anything odd but it's it's certainly a lot of fun I want to thank Mattel and Hot Wheels and and and and George Lucas certainly too and you guys Brian thank you and designing this car thinking Billy for building it and it's pretty cool it's it's a lot of fun I'm it's just exciting that it's an actual working driving prototype so cool see you guys next week

Channel: Jay Leno's Garage

Views: 1,139,725

Rating: 4.8789501 out of 5

Keywords: jay lenos garage, nbc jay leno, watch jay lenos garage video, watch jay lenos garage full ep, star wars, force, awakens, mattel, darth, vader, luke, Jay Leno, Jay Leno's Garage, car reviews, compares cars, classic cars, super cars, cars, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Camaro Z28, star wars movies, new star wars, star wars 7, star wars trailer, star wars teaser, star wars car, star wars new, darth vader, darth vader car, starwars, force awakens, Hot Wheels (Brand)

Id: nMoGFbhLgJw

Length: 20min 32sec (1232 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 14 2015