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What's "Spectraflame"? Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge's Best Builds Explains Toy History
Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge's aftershow Best Builds goes deep into Hot Wheels history.
The first episode of Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge has come and gone, but fans can get even closer to the action with NBC's aftershow, Best Builds! New episodes of Ultimate Challenge premiere every Tuesday evening, with a new episode of Best Builds dropping right after to give greater context and analyze which of our contestants has the best shot at the ultimate prize: $50,000 and a Hot Wheels die-cast version of the car they created for the finale made available for purchase.
RELATED: What Will the Winners of Hot Wheels™: Ultimate Challenge Receive?
In Best Builds Episode 1, host Rutledge Wood was joined by judges Dalal Elsheikh and Hertrech Eugene to break down the close competition between Jim Ferrell and Jadejha Edwards. While Jadejha tricked out a 2009 Chevrolet Camaro into a Cyber Slicker, Jim went full Power Charged with his wheelie-poppin' Dodge Charger. In the end, the judges gave a slight edge to Jim thanks to his imaginative engineering abilities and, most importantly, getting the thing up on two wheels despite failing to truly incorporate the surprise design element provided by the Inspirationator 5000.
But that element wasn't the only thing that intrigued our trio. Eugene was especially impressed by the "flake" in the vivid yellow paint Jim used to define the flames on the car. Elsheikh was quick to compare the look to "Spectraflame," which a banner explains is "the name used by Mattel for the metallic finishes sported by its original Hot Wheels from 1968-1972."
Spectraflame is just one of many finishes you can find on Hot Wheels die-casts, which range from the shimmering Spectraflame, Spectrafrost, and Glitter to the more subdued Matte and Enamel. With how big a Hot Wheels fans the contestants on Ultimate Challenge are, we can likely expect the full spectrum of possible finishes. (Though, who could blame anyone for going as flashy as possible with their life-size builds? After all, this is a competition!)
New episodes of Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge premiere on Tuesdays at 10PM ET/PT on NBC. You can catch up the next day on Peacock.
