This car influenced a few different stories for me. Thanks to my cousin's generosity, I have this picture of the original one I knew of as a kid. It was probably a 1970 Hot Wheels model of a Custom 1968 Mustang, though they modified and reused this model many times though the years.

To begin with, I grew up in the '70s and '80s firmly on the Camaro side of the Camaro/Mustang debate—mostly because I loved this car that my older (and infinitely cooler) cousin had in his "ice cream bucket" of cars. It wasn’t until sometime in college, while walking through an antique store, that I spotted—and then realized—that this series of silver toy cars included a Mustang, a Camaro, and a 'Cuda. I began to wonder if I’d been wrong all this time.

As you can see, I was. He clearly had the Mustang.

Second admission: Once, while my cousin was away, I borrowed—without his knowledge—this very car. (Sorry.) I kept it at my house for a miserable week. I was so worried about making sure nothing happened to it that I didn’t enjoy it at all. It was promptly returned the following week.

The Jaguar XJS has always been one of my favorites. The design, even in real life, is still striking—but it’s also a shape that never photographs particularly well. This Hot Wheels model is from 1977 and was part of the original group of cars I played with as a kid.

As I got into my teens, I learned about some of the electrical issues Jaguar had with the real car. It’s a shame, given the V12 engine and the car’s sleek looks. About five years ago, I tracked one down at a dealer for a test drive. Before I even left the lot, a small plume of smoke emerged from the center console. Yikes. But it subsided, and the drive went ahead as planned.

The experience was everything I had hoped for since childhood—smooth and powerful.

The TT name honors the foundation of Audi as a car company, which was formed through a merger between NSU and Auto Union, brought together in 1969 by parent company Volkswagen. NSU manufactured cars, motorcycles, and pedal bikes—its motorcycles often competed in the famed Isle of Man TT races.

The 1980s aren’t particularly known for exciting automotive design, but by the mid-1990s, that began to change. Many manufacturers started producing cars with bolder, more striking designs. The TT was one of these forerunners. Its production was initially delayed due to the need for seamless welding technology, which was essential to achieving its distinctive shape.

My wife and I had the chance to test drive one a few years ago, and it was a blast. Not a hardcore sports car, to be sure, but plenty of fun to motor around in. A small personal connection I have to the TT is the fact that its sales span from 1999 to 2023 mirrors one of my own career eras—working at a single manufacturing company during that same period.

The Citation, Chevrolet's first front-wheel-drive car.

We've veered far from the sports car category with this week's pick. Maybe it's the car’s very normalcy that helped keep it in such great shape. After all, I don’t remember ever simulating a high-speed chase with the X-11, at least not in its Hot Wheels form.

Coincidence, maybe—but a bit of foreshadowing—that about eight years later, I’d find myself driving my sister’s real Citation in a sort of high-speed race with friends. That evening ended with me and two others in the hospital, my stay lasting several weeks.

If only I had treated my sister’s car as well as I did the model version.