MotorTrend’s First Cover Car Now Available as a Matchbox Diecast!
Celebrate our 75th anniversary by adding an awesome model to your collection.
To drive forward, you need to look in the rearview mirror. As MotorTrend celebrates its 75th anniversary, we’ve teamed up with Matchbox to celebrate the first-ever car to appear on the cover of our magazine, the 1949 Kurtis Sport Car, with a tiny Matchbox version you can buy now.
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Our founder, Robert E. Petersen, created HOT ROD magazine to cover hot rod culture in 1948, a year before the first copy of MotorTrend was printed. As the story goes, Kurtis Kraft Inc. founder Frank Kurtis suggested that Petersen launch a second magazine covering new cars in the wake of Hot Rod’s success. Petersen snapped photos of the 1949 Kurtis Sport Car for the cover of his new magazine’s first issue, and MotorTrend was born.
“Petersen could have put any car on the first cover, but he chose the Kurtis because it spoke to future automotive design and cutting-edge trends,” says Ed Loh, Head of Editorial, MotorTrend. “Bringing the Kurtis to life as a die-cast for the world to enjoy is the ultimate way to celebrate MotorTrend’s 75th anniversary.”
The Kurtis Sport Car predates other American motoring icons like the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang, boasting an innovative steel frame that can be thought of as a precursor to today’s unibody construction. Powered by a Ford flathead V-8 developing 160 hp and approximately 225 lb-ft of torque, the Kurtis Sport Car had legitimate performance credentials in its day. After appearing on MotorTrend’s cover, HOT ROD’s founding editor Wally Parks drove the Kurtis Sport Car to 142.515 mph at the Bonneville National Speed Trials with a custom race engine under the hood. This same car, bearing serial number KB003 is back in MotorTrend’s possession, still bearing Parks’ signature on the glove box lid. As the third of 18 Kurtis Sport Cars ever made, its status as a classic is undeniable.
Matchbox originally produced a 1949 Kurtis Sport Car diecast from 2022 to 2023, painted in Metalflake Dark Red for the first year and Metalflake Dark Blue for the second year. Now, KB003’s dark green hue will enter production as a limited-edition run of the diecast model. For the first time ever, this priceless piece of automotive history is available to MotorTrend and Matchbox fans alike.
“Creating this special Matchbox Kurtis die-cast reminded us of the legacy that MotorTrend has created through decades of reporting on the car trends that define our industry,” says Bryan Benedict, Key Principal Designer, Matchbox. “We’re excited to offer this special collectible with fans and celebrate automotive innovation and excellence with MotorTrend.”
The Matchbox diecast is packaged in a special edition box that draws inspiration from the cover of the first issue of MotorTrend magazine. Mattel Creations produced a faithful replica of our cover car, matching the paint and trim to KB003’s specification. The diecast model rolls on upgraded white wall tires and its dark tan interior matches the real-life Kurtis Sport Car.
Itching to get a look of our full-scale 1949 Kurtis Sport Car alongside its pocket-sized counterpart? Matchbox’s Kurtis model makes its debut at HOT ROD Power Tour 2024 in Bowling Green, Kentucky and will be shown beside our own Kurtis at each stop of the event from June 10-14. If you’d like to add Matchbox’s limited-edition 1949 Kurtis Sport Car to your die-cast collection, you can purchase the 1:64th scale model exclusively at MattelCreations.com for $30 right now.
Photo credit: David Chickering
Billy Rehbock's passion for cars started with his dad's Volkswagen Jetta GLX, his mom's Cabriolet, and his own Hot Wheels collection. A USC graduate with a Master of Science in journalism, he's an associate editor for the MotorTrend Buyer's Guide and covers everything from sports cars to SUVs.
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