Remembering the Spin King, the Hot Wheels car designed by Shane Warne

The sudden passing of cricketing icon Shane Warne has prompted an outpouring of national grief. We pay tribute to the King of Spin by looking back at one of his lesser-known achievements.

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Australia lost an icon today, the King of Spin, Shane Warne, passing away after a heart attack. He was 52.

While his cricketing achievements are legendary (that first ball to Mike Gatting on his Ashes debut, anyone?), one of ‘Warnie’s’ lesser accomplishments simply has to be acknowledged.

Amongst the 708 test wickets across 15 years, and not forgetting the 194 one day international scalps, Warne found time to design his own Hot Wheels car.

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Dubbed the ‘Spin King’ the special edition 1/64 scale Hot Wheels car was in production from 2012-14. Designed by Warnie himself, with a little help from Kevin Cao, the Spin King was a sleek coupe with a V12 engine mounted amidships underneath a customised engine cover. A large triangular exhaust stack with 21 separate tailpipes sprouts out the back underneath a huge rear wing sporting Warne’s preferred ‘23’ playing number.

The Spin King was available in several different colours – satin blue, metalflake green, orange or black – with differing window treatments ranging from clear to tinted to clear dark purple.

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The original blister pack featured a drawing of Warnie holding a cricket bat while the description on the back trumpeted the Spin King’s credentials: “It’s a sporty coupe made for speed, accuracy and style”.

Warne explained his vision for the Spin King when the limited edition was released back in 2012.

“I‘ve always had a passion for cars,” said Warne at the model’s launch. “I used to play with Hot Wheels cars as a kid, so when they offered me the chance to design my own, I jumped at it.

“I loved every minute of the design process and working with the team at Hot Wheels was great fun. The ‘Spin King’ is a fusion between all of my favourite fast cars and it’s been great seeing my vision come to life.”

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Shane Warne will forever be remembered for his cricketing greatness, his larrikin personality and in some small corner of the 1/64 model car world, the Spin King.

Shane Warne, 1969-2022, RIP.

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