Following the recent news that Mattel and Jaguar had partnered to launch the 2021 Jaguar F-Type in North America, the companies rolled into the Windy City to kick-off an expanded partnership at the Chicago Auto Show.
Jaguar and Hot Wheels set a new Guinness World Record for the “most loops-the-loops in a Hot Wheels track” during the F-Type’s public reveal in Chicago. The companies used the event to reveal their joint initiative to create a new engineering scholarship contest for students across North America: The Jaguar & Hot Wheels Ultimate Track Challenge.
The Jaguar & Hot Wheels Ultimate Track Challenge offers college and university engineering programs the opportunity to partner with their local Jaguar retailer for students to design and build the most complex, record-setting Hot Wheels track imaginable, meeting both Hot Wheels and Guinness World Records parameters. Student participants will have the opportunity to set a record lap at retailer launch events for the new F-Type throughout the month of April.
The most challenging track will be rewarded with a $50,000 donation to the participating institutions’ scholarship fund.
The teams from @Jaguar & @Hot_Wheels unveiled the 2021 Jaguar F-TYPE and set a @GWR world record at the @ChiAutoShow this week. Get the full story at The @ToyBook —> https://t.co/7EJtVvw0ks #WeKnowPlay! #CAS2020 pic.twitter.com/ZqdimKMwyb
— James Zahn – The Rock Father™ (@therockfather) February 7, 2020
“For many car enthusiasts, a Hot Wheels car was their first automotive experience. Oftentimes it was an exotic sports car, like the F-Type, which is why we are thrilled to be revealing the vehicle in North America with this Hot Wheels partnership” says Stuart Schorr, vice president communications, Jaguar Land Rover. “Jaguar is committed to supporting the next generation of smart, creative, automotive enthusiasts and we are excited to see the submissions students will be making across the U.S. and Canada.”
A group of students from the Illinois Institute of Technology will partner with Jaguar Land Rover Orland Park as the first participants in the program.
The world record-setting track built at the Chicago Auto Show measured 69.5 feet and was built entirely from Hot Wheels Track sets. It consisted of seven loops unassisted by power boosters; breaking the previous Guinness World Record by two loops.
“Hot Wheels was founded to push the limits of design and performance and we are proud to have worked with the talented team at Jaguar for over 40 years,” says Ricardo Briceno, senior director of Hot Wheels global brand marketing, Mattel. “Partnering with Jaguar to break the Guinness World Record and calling on students across the U.S. and Canada to create their own vision to win the #JaguarHotWheels Challenge is the perfect example of our commitment to ignite and nurture the challenger spirit.”
Interested students and institutions should contact their local Jaguar retailer for full details on how to participate.