I like the unusual castings, it’s true. So of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pick up this slick, Art Deco-lookin’ machine a couple of months back...
Say “buongiorno” to the this 1950's dream machine concept car from Alfa Romeo, the B.A.T. 9. As you can see from the card, this is 2005 First Editions casting re-imagined for Hot Wheels by Mark Jones (he’s the designer behind castings like the Phantastique, Hot Seat, Dogfighter and one of my personal faves, the Ground FX).
The real B.A.T. 9 is actually the 3rd in this series of concept cars, originally conceived as a collaboration between Alfa Romeo and those style kings over at the Bertone Studio. The name is an abbreviation of ‘Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica’.
The B.A.T. 9 followed the original B.A.T. 5 and the B.A.T. 7 to appear at the Turin Motor Show in 1955. The series was later revived with the B.A.T. 11 in 2008. All of them have in common that singular Jetsons-esque, “raygun gothic” look, which I am a total sucker for.
I picked this casting up from a dealer at none other place than the world famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to take it off the card; Hot Wheels only released this casting once, so for now I’m keeping it minty.
Here’s a pic of the casting free and wild, showing off that lovely metalflake silver paint-job.