That Time Forgot: Chevrolet Monte Carlo Intimidator
Time definitely forgot about this one, although it did preview the appearance of something to come. What’s this? You’ll find out in today’s installment of That Time Forgot.
This is the 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Intimidator Concept. Introduced at the 1998 North American International Auto Show in Detroit by two surprise guests, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and the Tasmanian Devil, this was a racecar inspired vehicle taking cues from the Monte Carlos Chevrolet was racing in NASCAR at the time.
Described as road-legal by Chevrolet, but “only barely”, the car was equipped with a modified Buick 3800 Series II 3.8L V6 producing some 295 horsepower and 280 lbf⋅ft (380 Nm) of torque. The design of the car was done by Wayne Cherry.
The car featured all of the fixings you’d find in a racecar, especially a NASCAR one; low-slung front and rear airdams, decklid spoiler, racing guages, Recaro bucket seats, fire suppressant systems, five-point harnesses, steel safety cage, blah blah blah blah.
Ultimately, the Monte Carlo Intimidator was never produced and remained a concept; however, the design of the Intimidator served as inspiration for the next generation of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The name “Intimidator” would be reused for the Dale Earnhardt Signature Edition, a special edition of the 2002 Monte Carlo of which 3,333 were produced.
As far as I’m aware, the Intimidator Concept is currently in private ownership, having been auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson some time in 2017.
Now that we’ve gotten the history of the Intimidator Concept out of the way, let’s talk about the Hot Wheels casting.
Designed by Phil Riehlman, the Monte Carlo Intimidator was introduced in 1999 as a First Edition in the above color scheme. It has never been referred to by the name “Monte Carlo Intimidator”, instead always having been referred to as the “Monte Carlo Concept Car”; the Hi-Rakers release is an exception, but we’ll get to that later.
The base is made of metal and the casting is notably quite heavy; “MONTE CARLO CONCEPT CAR” can be seen on the base. However, interestingly, prototypes have a base marked with “MONTE CARLO INTIMIDATOR”; the “Intimidator” name was probably dropped on the model due to licensing issues.
The standard release of the Monte Carlo Intimidator saw a total of ten releases, last being released in 2007 as a Multi-Pack exclusive.
A modified version of the tooling was introduced in 2006. Featuring jacked up suspension and a plastic base, this Monte Carlo Concept is simply named the “Monte Carlo”. This version only saw two releases and was also last released in 2007 with an Easter Eggs-clusives release.
I hope you have learned a little bit more about this stock car-inspired road car and its small Hot Wheels counterparts, and as usual, I’d do it again any day.