Imagine having your hand-drawn art featured on a Hot Wheels packaging. That is exactly what happened to nine-year-old Saw Jane Harn from Malaysia.
Saw was named the winner of the Hot Wheels x PROTON Kids Design Competition 2023 and is set to be the first kid to see her hand-drawn artwork featured on a Hot Wheels die-cast packaging. Harn’s design will be printed on the special edition Hot Wheels Proton Saga, available for purchase nationwide at the end of the year.
In 2022, Hot Wheels and PROTON introduced their first-ever collaboration by revealing a prototype of the iconic 1985 Proton Saga in a 1:64 scale diecast model. This collaboration coincided with Mattel Malaysia's 40th-anniversary celebration, and the Hot Wheels Proton Saga was set to be a part of the world's best-selling Hot Wheels singles collection, exclusively manufactured by Mattel Malaysia.
This year, Hot Wheels and PROTON took their partnership to a more meaningful level by announcing the Hot Wheels x PROTON Kids Design Competition. They called upon children from across the country to participate in this historic event by creating blister card designs that capture the essence of "A Malaysian National Car."
Over 386 entries were received from hopefuls aged between 4 and 12, showcasing patriotic colours like blues, whites, reds, and yellows. Ultimately, the top three winners were Saw Jane Harn, 9, Ezra Rehan Pal, 11, and Austin Goh Zi Hao, 11.
Saw’s design captures and celebrates a range of Malaysia’s natural features and achievements, from the rhinoceros hornbill and hibiscus, to the country’s national bird and flower, and the National Monument.
“We are grateful to Mattel for this opportunity,” said the winner’s parent Tang Sing Chant.
“Not only have they gifted our daughter such a great honour, (but) they have ignited a spark for a deeper appreciation for our country. We still can’t quite believe that her design will be available for purchase in stores across Malaysia – we can’t wait to see it in person.”
The winning design will undergo a pre-production review to identify any regulatory or other approvals that may be required, and the Mattel/Proton team will endeavour to secure such approvals. The team hopes to keep as much as possible the original design elements and aims to launch it in 2024.
Car enthusiasts across the globe can look forward to the Hot Wheels Proton Saga, available for purchase in over 150 countries, in December this year.
