The Hot Wheels 1969 & 1970 Mustang Boss 302: We never noticed the difference...

I am not an expert when it comes to Mustangs. I can stop and stare at a classic Mustang with the best of them, but when it comes to the ins and outs of all things pony, I am not the guy you want to ask.

That is probably why I never noticed that Hot Wheels produced two different Mustang Boss 302 castings for their Racing Series. It also didn't help that the only difference between the castings was masked by glossy black paint.

When the 302 casting debuted in the Vintage Racing line (in yellow), it was dubbed a 1970. When it reemerged in the Hot Wheels Racing line the next year, it was a 1969 Boss 302. The bases were the same (both say 1970), as were the silhouettes. There was no noticeable difference. We assumed they were the same.

But if we knew our Mustangs, we would have known that there was a difference between the 1969 and 1970 Boss 302's. The 1969 had 4 headlights (2 on the outside, 2 on either side of the grill), but the 1970 had only two (the outside lamps were replaced with vents). And Hot Wheels, to stay accurate, did a very un-hotwheelian thing and reflected the difference in the castings. Take a look at the area on either side of the front grill:

1969:

1970:

It might be hard to tell on the '69, but those are headlamps molded into the casting. Everything else, as far as we can tell, is the same, except for the headlights.

And that is why we assumed the just-unveiled Mustang Boss 302 Super TH for 2015 was the 1970. We should have noticed it was the 1969:

Obviously another difference the Super and its mainline counterpart have with the HW Racing is the spoiler. It is now metal, but that is not a surprise since Hot Wheels has done that with all their castings. The chin spoiler is also more rounded compared with its previous version.

1969 or 1970 aside, we can't wait for this model. The 302 casting is personally my favorite Hot Wheels Mustang, and the Super looks great.

We have featured the Vintage Racing versions before, so let's give the Hot Wheels Racing 1969 version its own showcase.

(And another good reason to show it now? It is part of the Lamley Sale at Wheel Collectors