The Art of Speed with Jun Imai

Three little boys who are passionate about Hot Wheels were invited to share their Hot Wheels collections and their love for the brand with acclaimed Hot Wheels Lead Designer from the United States, Jun Imai, at a special meet-and-greet session held on 29 July 2017 at the “Art of Speed” Exhibition at Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS).

Jun Imai, the Lead Designer of the Hot Wheels Auto and Diecast Design team in the United States was the designer behind many highly anticipated Hot Wheels Classic collections. Some of these collections include the “Nissan Skyline GT-X”, “Skyline 2000 GT-R”, the “Datsun 620” and the latest “Datsun Bluebird 510” which was a hit among many Hot Wheels collectors and fans.



At the Art of Speed exhibition, Jun Imai made his entrance appearance and greeted his fans in a customized life-sized Hot Wheels “Datsun Bluebird 510” together with Ivan Franco, the Country Manager of Mattel Southeast Asia. The three little boys took turns to share their love for their Hot Wheels collections with Jun Imai at the meet-and-greet session.

“I am moved by the kids’ passion for Hot Wheels car. This has given me great satisfaction to know that many boys share the same passion as I do with Hot Wheels and that my designs has made an impact among many boys and Hot Wheels fans in Malaysia,” quotes Jun Imai.

They were also given a chance to co-design their dream Hot Wheels car with Jun Imai. Jun Imai sketched a special design that resembles their love for Hot Wheels. Young Ghibran, age 5, shared that “he would love if his local Malaysian car were to have a KLCC Twin Towers on it, whilst Jayden, age 6 added that he wanted a blue car with red stripes, black wheels and an exhaust that resembled the Petronas Twin Towers accompanied with a Malaysian Flag. Little Sun Hae, age 4 mentioned that he wanted a Hot Wheels car with a fire design on the side. This resulted in the unique Malaysia inspired design drawn by Jun Imai on the spot.


“At Mattel, we hope to inspire the wonder of childhood by letting children explore their passion and interest through play experiences. Hot Wheels encourages imagination, creativity and experimentation through thrilling vehicles experiences. We are extremely happy have Jun Imai with us in Kuala Lumpur for the 1st time and to see him engage with our children and fellow Malaysians. I hope that with Jun Imai’s visit here, it will inspire boys to be future car designers in Malaysia.” said Ivan Franco, Country Manager of Mattel Southeast Asia.