NBC Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
NBC Insider Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge

Everything to Know About Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge on NBC

Are you ready for some serious nostalgia and creativity? Watch Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge on NBC.

By Jackie Manno

Let your inner child rejoice: A beloved toy is making waves to your television in a totally unique way. A new show, Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge, is currently on NBC, and it gives lucky car Superfans the opportunity to take an ordinary, life-sized vehicle and revamp it to a completely epic creation in their own vision. But what, exactly, should you expect for the exciting new series? Keep reading to find out.

What is Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge on NBC?

How to Watch

Watch Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge on NBC and Peacock.

Inspired by the best-selling toy car collection of the same name, Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is a 10-episode car makeover competition series. The premise is this: “Each episode will invite two passionate car fans and Hot Wheels lovers into the Chrome Zone, where they will face off in each transforming an ordinary vehicle into an extraordinary Hot Wheels showstopper, inspired by personal stories and pop culture touchstones. Working alongside a team of automotive magicians known as 'The Car Pool,' the two Superfans will manufacture their designs in high-tech, decked-out garages. Raising the stakes of the competition is the Inspirationator 5000, a larger-than-life vending machine that will rev up in each episode to present the Superfans with a twist in the road.”

Life-size Hot Wheels Twin Mill on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum

Who is the Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge Host?

Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is hosted by former Top Gear Host and NASCAR features reporter Rutledge Wood.

Who is in the Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge cast?

Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge includes a rotating panel of celebrity Judges who will join Wood and resident experts Dalal Elsheikh (designer for the Ford Motor Company) and Hertrech “Hert” Eugene Jr. (car culture influencer) in assessing Contestants' creations throughout the season. Personalities slated to appear include Jay Leno and Ted Wu, Global Head of Design for Mattel’s Vehicles division. 

Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge prize

The winner of each episode will receive $25,000, and will advance to the finale. The finale winner will get an additional $50,000, and the car that wins the season will get its own official Hot Wheels model. 

Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge will bring some serious nostalgia to car lovers. “Everyone remembers their first car, the life experiences they had, and the friends who came along for the ride. Hot Wheels is a legendary brand with broad appeal that has created a space for imaginations to run free. We are so thrilled to partner with Mattel to combine this nostalgia with fantastical, extreme car transformations,” said Corie Henson, EVP of unscripted programming for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “It’s larger-than-life family viewing with edge and humor led by car enthusiast Rutledge Wood, whose creativity, credibility and passion for Hot Wheels makes him the perfect person to drive this wild competition.”

HOT WHEELS: ULTIMATE CHALLENGE -- Episode 101 -- Pictured: Rutledge Wood

Where to watch Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge

Starting May 30, you can watch Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge at 10/9c on NBC and next day on Peacock.