Turbodiesel 1931 Dodge Rat Rod is Hot Wheels Legends Tour finalist
Hot Wheels took its annual Legends Tour to Detroit, a city with one of America’s most vibrant car cultures, and the results didn’t disappoint. The winner is a 1931 Dodge Rat Rod built by three members of the same family and powered by a twin-turbo Cummins diesel engine.
While the truck is labeled as a Dodge, we’re not seeing much that comes from the company’s parts bin. Hot Wheels explained that Detroit resident Jolene Smith built the pickup from the ground up with her husband and her son in their garage. It’s low, both in terms of ground clearance and in terms of height, and it was built largely with whatever pieces of metal the family managed to get their hands on. The end result is a crew-cab truck with four rear-hinged doors, small side windows and 20-inch Worx Off-Road wheels buried in the fenders.
The interior is just as wild as the exterior. It was built using materials sourced from local flea markets and hobby shops and it has an almost steampunk vibe. There’s nothing old-school about the engine, however: power comes from a 5.9-liter Cummins straight-six diesel engine that’s fitted with two massive turbochargers and piping large enough to shoot a grapefruit through. The engine’s output hasn’t been released, but it’s likely impressive. Also impressive is the fact that the Smith family has put about 18,000 miles on the Rat Rod since finishing it.
Like every previous winner (shown above), the 1931 Dodge Rat Rod will move on to the Legend Tour’s semi-final round scheduled to take place in the fall of 2022. The winner will be immortalized in 1/64 scale, added to the Hot Wheels catalog, and sold around the world.
Related video:
