We spoke with this Nissan 240SX’s owner to learn more.
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour is one of the cooler aspects of automotive culture. The Legends Tour goes city to city, looking for some of the wildest, most unique rides out there. There’s also a massive custom car show where contestants are judged. Everything from brand new cars like the Nissan Z to totally custom builds like this 240SX one can be seen at these shows. Contestants can register to enter, after which their cars are judged by some of the automotive world’s best-known faces, with a winner entering into the next round.
Then, one of those finalists from one of many cities is chosen by Hot Wheels to become the next Hot Wheel, of course. We spoke to Kyle Murphy, the owner of this 1998 Nissan 240SX to learn a little more about his build, as well as how it feels to have your car win a round of the Legends Tour.
Kyle comes from a family of car nuts. His mom drove him to school in a MK3 Toyota Supra, letting him row through the gears from the passenger seat. After his first 240 met an untimely end after being t-boned, Kyle’s mom found an ad for this 240SX in the paper. It was one of the last new 240s in the country, and Kyle even took it to prom.
In his 23 years of ownership, Murphy, 41, has extensively modified the car. He’s clearly a man who’s proud of his work, as he should be. “All good things are worth waiting for, dreams don’t just come true overnight without time and effort.”
He told us he saved for years to buy his dream Work wheels back in 2006, which are still on the car to this day. Kyle’s 240SX was also painted a shade of Laguna Seca Blue in early 2002, which adds to what he calls an “OEM+ look” for the car. His 240 also features Chargespeed front fenders, Craft side mirrors, a Greddy front lip, and a Bomex grille.
The custom 2.4T badge on the quarter panel is a nod to what Kyle has going on under the hood. His 240SX uses the stock Nissan KA24DE engine, which has been turbocharged. The bottom end of the motor has been built out to keep things from going bang, something Kyle also credits his tuner and friend Armando Alvarez for. At high boost, Kyle says the car will produce 600 hp and has clocked 161 mph in the standing mile.
Kyle has taken his 240SX to the Legends Tour every year in Miami and loves going to see the unique builds the tour attracts. One year, he posted a photo of the car with the famous Hot Wheels banner. It caught some eyes, gathering 40,000 likes on his Instagram page. Despite that, Kyle expected nothing new when he pulled into the lot this year. He’d gone to see the winners of the contest, and despite entering, clearly wasn’t sure he was going to win.
“I walked over just expecting to record the moment and hopefully get to share the video with the winner after the event.” Then, he started to hear the announcer describing his S14. “Thankfully, I had my sunglasses on because my eyes were definitely holding back tears of joy,” says Kyle.
Kyle says he’s honored to have been selected as the winner for the Miami leg of the Legends Tour and has many fond memories of playing with Hot Wheels of his own. That’s why Kyle says it would be a dream come true to win it all and have his beloved Nissan 240SX immortalized as a Hot Wheels car.
