Futura’s art has covered many canvases. His signature handstyle has donned Supreme Box Logo T-shirts. His atoms have appeared on Nike SB Dunk Lows and Kenzo jackets. His Pointman figures have been turned into statues. Despite all of his notable work, it took him until 2025 to showcase his artwork on one of Hot Wheels’ iconic diecast cars.
The Hot Wheels x Futura Laboratories Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 already sold out on Complex, but the matching apparel is still available now exclusively on Complex. Fans will have another shot at the 1:64 scale Hot Wheels car when it drops on the Mattel Creations site on Sept. 26.
Futura is the latest of his peers to put a streetwear spin on the classic toys. Daniel Arsham has recreated a Porsche and Nigo shrunk down his Moncler x Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.
“It's a long time coming for me to finally be able to work for a brand like Hot Wheels," Futura tells Complex. "I was very happy to get an opportunity to work with the brand."
Ahead of the launch, we got a chance to speak with Futura. He discussed his favorite details on his Hot Wheels car, what he still wants to create, why he has had such longevity in streetwear culture, and more.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
What was your introduction to the Hot Wheels brand growing up?
It would more have been something obvious like a firetruck, some sort of a service vehicle, maybe even a cop car or a taxi or something. I wouldn't have gravitated to any specific brand of car. Growing up in New York, there's vehicles everywhere, but not having a personal car changes your mindset about cars.
What excited you about working with an iconic brand like Hot Wheels and Mattel Creations?
With all the stuff I've done over my timeline, I've done toys like action figures or collectible figures, but not vehicles. It's a long time coming for me to finally be able to work for a brand like Hot Wheels. It's so iconic, so American. I was very happy to get an opportunity to work with the brand.
What is it about a collaboration that still excites you after all these years?
A thing that you haven't done before, that's going to be interesting. Not specifically this one, but a lot of my collaborations have also been with people I had befriended. The friendships were created prior to the business part. I like to build bridges with people and then if something can happen where we can work together, great. But at the same time, there's a huge list of people that I haven't worked with. It's not like I'm some mercenary. It's more personal and there's some emotion there that I feel keeps it real.
What inspired your Hot Wheels design?
I wanted to do a painting of mine on the vehicle rather than something else. The basic design is taken from a painting. I got some logos on there from my brand Futura Laboratories. It’s sad, in a sense, that it's such a small scale and area space, as opposed to painting a whole subway car back in the day. But hey, I'm adaptable. I'm not physically painting the car with micro brushes. It's a template that gets printed out or painted out of their facilities. But yeah, when I did this project, I thought, “Wow, it would be nice to paint a life-sized Mitsubishi.”
Is there any significance of this Mitsubishi model to you?
I knew I wanted to maybe do a Japanese car because, once again, it's a recognition of my own history in Japan over the last 30 years. It's also nice just to show some diversity.
Some people look at sales numbers or impressions or commentary from their peers to determine the success of something they've created. What do you deem as a success when it comes to your work and what you create?
Oh, wow. Well, I think it would be my truthful impression, not how many views or likes or comments or whatever. How do I feel about the thing and am I being honest about the thing? Is my quality control on point or was I just kind of mailing it in? But I don't really care so much for public opinion in the sense of my direction because I'm on my own tempo. I just use my own instincts.
Going back to this car, you mentioned how small it is and the scale of it. Is there a detail that made it to the final product that you're particularly proud of being able to execute on something that size?
Wow, that's so cool that you mentioned that. It's not even highly artistic. So in real life, I've had various vanity plates over the years for my vehicles. My futuradosmil identity on Instagram, "dos mil" being "2000" in Spanish. On the car is a “Dos Mil” license plate. And then one of my main symbols is the atomic oval ring. I got one of those on the rear windshield. I obviously can’t get into the Hot Wheels and drive it, but I did have a car that had that license plate, and that kind of personalized it. It's like me putting a vanity plate on my car.
When you started doing art many years ago, could you ever have imagined that it would show up on a Hot Wheels car?
No.
The car comes in a very generic, almost utilitarian cardboard packaging, nothing flashy. I like the packaging of things more than what's inside the box sometimes. It's like, “Wow, look at my name on that cardboard box. That’s the name that I once wrote on the wall.” There have been other great products that I've seen my name on, but I still get a little rush out of that, seeing the tag on the side of the vehicle.
I truly do get excited because I also see a product like this with Mattel as an opportunity to get me into a new room and a new conversation. I could already tell some of the comments from the Hot Wheels site that the audience is going to be more broad. I'm going to probably get introduced to a new audience, which is great. And then the dad with a four-year-old, he’s going to pass my work on to the next generation. Maybe some 12-year-old kid's going to discover me. I think it's wonderful. All the brands touch different audiences. This one is great because it's an opportunity for a young child to gravitate to it.
What is something that you haven't had a chance to create yet that you still hope one day you're able to?
I want to paint a plane. Something in space would be a dream, paint a rocket, I don't know. Those are wishlist things. Talking about brands, I'm still hoping to do something with Apple.
So many people that you've come up with, whether it be Nigo, Stash or Murakami, are still such pivotal figures within streetwear culture. How does it feel to see the longevity that you and all of your work has had?
I don't dwell on that thought, but I do wonder sometimes,”Wow, how is this possible?” I think it's a testament to the ability to somehow navigate all of this timeline. I've always tried to be very down to earth and decent. I don't have agendas. I don't come in with an attitude. I think I've treated people kindly, and that should have some return to it. My friends, my collaborators, and I have collectively all managed to shepherd this whole culture along. I'm very, very fortunate, and I know that.
You just have to believe in yourself. Confidence can go a long way. Confidence can make up for lack of resources. Talent can do that also. Somebody yesterday was like, “Oh man, Lenny, you're finally getting your flowers.” And I'm like, “Well, I'm going to be 70 next month. You would hope so. I guess I've certainly waited long enough.” But that's not why I'm out here. I'm not out here to get flowers or awards. I just want to keep creating and being myself. And then if some reward or compensation can come from that, why not share that or donate that to help other people as well?
Mattel Creations is the premium collaborations platform connecting global creators with Mattel’s most talented designers and brands. These collaborations remixed Mattel’s iconic toys into entirely new designers offered direct to consumers. It’s toys as art and art inspired by toys with a highly collectible nature.