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Description[]

The Snake  was issued in the 1970 Hot Wheels line-up. Race car driver Don "Snake" Prudhomme's car was a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car. He is most famous for racing Tom McEwen in his red 1970 Plymouth Duster, named Mongoose.

Snake 1970 BP

The Snake had its own style of blister for this release. The Blister has a picture of both "Mongoose & Snake" cars. "Mongoose vs Snake" written just above the car on the cardboard. The Cars were packaged with a metal or plastic 'Collector's Button'. and was released both as a Hong Kong version and an USA version. It had standard capped Redlines on the front and the back. 1970 was the only year of release for this casting with this name.

This car is playable in Hot Wheels: Turbo Racing.

Snake II[]

The Snake II is a Hot Wheels casting from the 1971 Hot Wheels range of vehicles. It uses the same casting as the Snake from 1970 except this time it has Enamel White paint and 'Snake II' stickers. 

It is based on the Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car driven by Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme in 1970, a car sponsored by Hot Wheels in conjunction with his rival Tom 'The Mongoose' McEwen.

The Hot Wheels Snake II was produced at both the USA and Hong Kong factories and was only made in Enamel White. USA built cars had clear windows while Hong Kong produced cars have blue tinted windows. It came with a black roll-cage and body prop underneath its opening body. The base came in two pieces, with the engine being riveted to the bottom part.

It came on a special 'Mongoose vs Snake' card which had artwork of each car. It had its side stickers applied from the factory and a sticker sheet with flames was included in the package. It was also packaged with a plastic 'Collectors Button'.

The Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car casting would go on to be used in 1973 as both the Snake and Mongoose, and in 1974 under the name Top Eliminator. It was re-tooled in 1994 as part of the Vintage Series and has been released several times since.

'73 Snake II[]

In 1973 Mattel were hit with some hard times, and as a result, they decided to use one casting for both the Snake and Mongoo$e models. The casting they chose to represent both the Snake and Mongoo$e was the 'Cuda.

The Snake was released in both enamel white and yellow, with pre applied blue 'Snake II' stickers (even on the yellow release which should have had white 'Snake' stickers). Due to cost cutting, the 1973 Snake II did not come with windows or a body prop and also did not come on a unique 'Snake and Mongoo$e' card, but instead came on the ordinary 1973 card. The 1973 Snake II came with capped wheels on the rear and a straight axle on the front. It also came with '6969' cast on the underside of the roof. The 1973 castings of the Snake and Mongoo$e are hard to find and highly sought-after, personal judgement should be taken when purchasing one to determine its legitimacy.

Top Eliminator[]

Top Eliminator was released in 1974. It debuted the new Flying Colors theme tampo on its side. This casting is a reissue of the Snake casting, based on a Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car. Early versions have capped redline wheels, along with a base that has less detail and is unreinforced. The base was later retooled with more reinforcement and more details. The black plastic roll cage and the body prop are still gone.

The blister pack for 1974 was changed to a white background with cars (Baja Breaker, Heavy Chevy & P-917) flying off the card. The Card itself was 7" x 4.5" and featured the Red Flying Colors Logo.

Versions[]

The Snake has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Year Series Color Sticker Base Color
/
Type
Interior Color Wheel Type Toy # Country Notes
/
Variations
Photo
1970 1970 Hot Wheels Yellow White sticker w/ 'Snake' on sides ZAMAC Black RL 6409 Hong Kong Snakefunnycar
1970 1970 Hot Wheels Yellow White sticker w/ 'Snake' on sides ZAMAC Black RL 6409 USA Snakefunnycar
1971 Mongoose vs Snake Enamel White Hot Wheels Logo and 'Snake II' on side, Red Flames on top ZAMAC Black RL 5953 Hong Kong Blue Tinted Window 1971-snaKE 2 5953 HK Don sNaKe Prudhomme White
1971 Mongoose vs Snake Enamel White Hot Wheels Logo and 'Snake II' on side, Red Flames on top ZAMAC Black RL 5953 USA Snake2
1973 1973 Hot Wheels Enamel Yellow ZAMAC Black RL 6969 HK Snake
1973 1973 Hot Wheels Enamel White ZAMAC Black RL 6969 HK Snake II 1973 White
1974 Flying Colors Dk. Enamel Blue Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS" ZAMAC Black RL 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator
Capped Rear wheels
Top Elem early 1974
1974 Flying Colors Dk. Enamel Blue Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS" ZAMAC Black RL 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator Top Elem Dk Blue 1976 RL
1976 Flying Colors Dk. Enamel Blue Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS" ZAMAC Black RL 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator Top Elem Dk Blue 1976 RL
1977 Flying Colors Gold Chrome Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER" ZAMAC Black RL 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator Hemi Hauler Redline
1977 Flying Colors Gold Chrome Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER" ZAMAC Black BW 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator Top Elem Gold BW 1977
1978 Drag Strippers Gold Chrome Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER" "AC" Logo rear fender ZAMAC Black BW 7630 Hong Kong Named Top Eliminator Top Eliminator GldL
1982 Mainline Enamel Red Yellow, Black, White "Radical Racer& 301" ZAMAC Tan BW 7630 Malaysia Named Top Eliminator on card & base Top Elem Red BW 1982
1983 International Enamel Green ZAMAC Black BW Malaysia Named Top Eliminator
Only available in Italy
Italiantopeliminator
1983 International Enamel Yellow ZAMAC Black BW Malaysia Named Top Eliminator
Only available in Italy
Image Not Available
1983 International Enamel White ZAMAC Black BW France Named Top Eliminator Image Not Available
1983 Speed Machines Enamel Plum None ZAMAC Black BW None Malaysia Named Top Eliminator TopElim1983
French Mainline Dk. Enamel Blue Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS" ZAMAC Black BW Named Top Eliminator A French Snake

See also[]

Gallery[]

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