Although the 2013 D23 Expo won’t take place until August 9-11, 2013, tickets went on sale on August 9, 2012. If you have the opportunity, you need to make it to the D23 Expo – if not for the loads of presentations and amazing artwork, then for the exclusive Pixar merchandise.
At the 2011 D23 Expo, one hot commodity item was the limited edition D23 Chrome Lightning McQueen (edition of 250). As soon as this item was released at the Expo, eBay listings were popping up by the minute. Although the list price was $99.50 USD, they were quickly selling for $200.00 USD on the low side and up to $400.00 USD. Now they routinely sell between $400.00 USD and $600.00 USD – whew!
Lightning is a 1:18 scale (scale reference image below) die-cast and has a very highly detailed chrome finish with movable slick synthetic rubber tires (front tires can also turn left/right), working head/tail lights, and movable roof flaps. His eyes contain a lot of detail and the white area of the eyes are painted extremely well. His World Grand Prix badge, piston cup hood decal, and flames are all stickers — painting those details on would have been a challenge over chrome and would have cost a pretty penny (although I would have loved to have seen it).
The car itself measures about 10 inches in length by 4 inches wide and the hexagon-shaped box measures 14.5 inches by 7.25 inches. Attached to the inside of each box is a certificate of authenticity. It is also surprisingly heavier than you might think – Lightning McQueen and the box (together) weigh in at just under 4.5 pounds.
PURCHASING
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Sometimes I find it fascinating to view what they are selling for – click here to view our pre-filtered searches on eBay for the D23 Chrome McQueen.
So, what will be the hot Pixar toy at the 2013 D23 Expo – it is yet to be seen, but with Monsters University on deck in 2013 as well, I’m going to guess it will be related to Mike or Sulley.
If anyone knows where I can get one of the Chrome Lightning Cars, I would be so grateful. I have been looking for years. Thank you!
Hello Erin,
I absolutely get why you want this one – it’s so neat! The issue is that because of the rarity and time since it was released, your best bet will be eBay. We’ve seen the prices fluctuate wildly – anywhere from $250-$600. If anything pops up that’s really appealing price-wise, we’ll let you know. Good luck!!
Without a doubt! I love that Finn…heck, I love any Ransburg-style car!
we should not forget the Secret Finn in the black envelope that came with Sub Finn either
That would be great! Definitely let us know if you hear anything else on this as we would definitely want one! For any readers that may not know, the Toyfair-style McQueen was a standard 1:55 scale McQueen in an acrylic case that had \”New York Toy Fair 2011\” etched into the acrylic (as well as \”Lightning McQueen\”) – it was a limited run of 500. Thanks for the info, Kevin. Pixar Post – T.J.
Rumor has it a Toyfair style Mcqueen might make it to SDCC or D 23