Matchbox Superfast MB8-f Wildcat Dragster

During 1970 the #8 Mustang tooling was modified from standard coupe to become a Hot Rod. It received a big engine mounted in the centre of the bonnet (hood) with new smooth sides to accomodate ´Wildcat´ labels and a new baseplate to enable truck sized rear wheels to be fitted. The Wildcat Mustang was normally packed in `G´ boxes or all types of blisterpacks with copyright dates between 1970 and 1974.
Colour trials or pre-productions survive today painted red fitted with the uncommon lipless square slot 10 x 4mm wheels normally found on the tomato red #8e Mustangs.

The colour chosen for volume production was dayglow orange clearcoat over glossy pink enamel primer and such a car features in the copyright 1971 collector catalogue fitted with 12.5x3mm 5 slot truck tyres on the rear which although proven to be fitted to many #62d Cougars may only be a colour trial feature on the Wildcat Mustang. Hopefully this variation will turn up in significant numbers in the future on the forum here!
The dayglow orange Mustangs are extremely easily faded by light sources or chemicals (even chemically bleached by some customisers) and further shade variations can be explained by relative thickness of either double coats of pink primer or dayglow orange clearcoat so great care must be taken when buying unusual lighter shades which may not be factory originals.

The first production run was painted nursery pink enamel and fitted with black ´Wildcat´ labels on an orange background giving rise to the theory that the dayglow orange clear top colour was not available when the first very large run of bodies went through Lesney´s paint shop. These first run cars all feature the original thin engine mounts with 2 holes visible at the front when viewed from above. Distortion when riviting the engine on this casting as well as the #62 Cougar and #4 Gruesome Twosome led to the sole body casting modification by reduction of holes to give required strength.

The Wildcat stickers were redesigned during by 1972 , perhaps even as early as 1971 to feature an orange Cougar on a yellow background with black outlining and black ´WILDCAT´ legend. Collectors have long speculated that Lesney management failed to make the obvious wildcat connection to the #62 Cougar and pony connection with the #8 Mustang ! Collectors should also be aware that large quantities of unused stickers were sold off to the collector community in the early 1980s so any other stickers other than Wildcat labels are likely to be collector reassignments unless the toy remains sealed in its Lesney blisterpack.

All production Wildcat Mustangs were intended to have 10x4mm 5 slot wheels on the front and 12.5x4mm 4 slot wheels on the rear but perhaps more than most other castings, plenty of wheel errors have been found with all four wheels of just one size, both large or small, as well as large wheels on the front and small wheels on the rear.
The baseplate retains the front tongue from the #8e Mustang which proves that this tool was modified rather than remade when the transition to Hot Rod was made. Black is the standard colour for these baseplates however short runs were made in plated metal or painted in surplus available-on-the-day colours - 29b metallic green; 38b yellow ; 56b green and 66d orange and others.

Roly Toys of Brazil were supplied with all the components and the 2nd type yellow stickers to enable them to paint and assemble Wildcat Mustangs in various colours of their choice.
This tooling was brought back into use in the mid 1980s in Macau and painted white with Shelby blue tampos as the #23g ´GT350´ . Mattel Matchbox have also made a completely new metal based tool inspired by this same Lesney #8e overwidth Mustang casting with warts and all!