Larry Wood

Since 1969, Larry has been the chief designer and innovator of Hot Wheels® cars.  Larry’s job is one in which he can design more cool cars in a year than a designer at one of Detroit’s “Big Three” manufacturers can create in an entire lifetime.  And Hot Wheels® got a designer for whom designing cars wasn’t only a way to earn a living, but also a way of life.  From low-slung Mercs to high-riding pickups, Larry has designed it all for Hot Wheels®.

As a Hot Wheels® enthusiast and collector himself, Larry has long been a champion for collectors.  Collector cars represent vehicles that Larry has wanted to create not only for the consumer, but also for himself.  As far back as he can remember; Larry loved to draw cars.

So when it came time to go to college, Larry enrolled at Art Center College and naturally, he majored in automotive design.  Art Center College has long been the farm club where scouts from the world’s auto manufacturers go looking for the car design superstars of the future.

When Larry graduated from Art Center, he was drafted by the Ford Motor Company and moved to the automobile big leagues in Detroit.  While some of his fellow classmates from Art Center settled down in Detroit, Larry decided he missed the warm climate of California, where he could drive his street rod all year ‘round.

In 1968, Larry moved back to Southern California where he worked as a designer in the aerospace industry.  Soon, however, he heard about an opening to design and create Hot Wheels® cars, and decided to give it a try.  And he’s been living the Hot Wheels® motto of speed, power and performance ever since.

Larry has created some of the most well-known Hot Wheels® cars, including the ’49 Merc, the Boyd Coddington collector set, Ramblin’ Wrecker (which originally featured Larry’s home phone number on the rear quarter panel of the truck), the Bone Shaker®, Purple Passion®, and many more.  Hot Wheels® fans have a lot to look forward to.  When asked to pick his favorite Hot Wheels® design, Larry’s motto is: “My next is my best.”