A former metal sculptor who spent 3500 hours turning an old Holden HJ one-tonner into a unique work of automotive art has taken out top prize in the Australian leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour – and if Tony Barron’s creation keeps winning, it will be immortalised as one of the famous toy cars.

The Legends Tour has attracted wild entries from right around the world as car enthusiasts vie for the big prize: inclusion in the toymaker’s Garage of Legends, which means their pride and joy is turned into a 1:64-scale die-cast car that will be sold in shops. The Aussie leg of the competition finished last week and Barron’s 1976 Zeus Dominator will now represent us on the global stage. 

Orange open-top dune buggy with large tires in a parking lot; two men talk near a white van in the background.
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Barron took a year to make the HJ completely unrecognisable as he turned it into a part-futuristic, part-retro open-wheeler powered by a 4.2-litre V8. According to a post from Kingston Auto Repairs in Tasmania, where the Zeus has been displayed, the incredible transformation saw him work on the car seven days a week for a year.

After choosing a 1976 HJ Holden for its long wheelbase, Barron kept the steering, brakes and general suspension set-up, then went ballistic with the build. Fully road-registered and compliant with Australian Design Rules, the Zeus was crafted using hand-formed aluminium – and, of course, Barron’s skills with metal.

He previously described the Zeus Dominator as a “rolling artwork that can be driven on Australian roads” and said he didn’t plan it out with drawings but instead designed it according to the idea of “form following function, which is the philosophy behind everything I make”. 

One of the judges for the Aussie leg of the Tour, Hot Wheels director of product design Jimmy Liu, said the cars would be graded on “creativity, the innovation and vision each builder brings; authenticity, the genuine passion behind the project; and garage spirit, that raw dedication and obsession that defines real car culture.”

Gigantic Hot Wheels Legends Tour display on a blue mural, featuring a black skull-decorated vehicle in front.
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Barron’s baby ticked all of those boxes as it beat a field of weird, wacky and beautiful vehicles that included a 1955 Holden FJ panel van, some Skyline GT-R throwbacks and a savagely stripped-back, horror-themed ute missing all of its front panelwork (pictured above).  

“A seed was planted at an early age. Becoming Australia’s winner of the 2026 Hot Wheels Legends Tour feels like a full-circle moment, and I’m excited to be representing Australia at the regional finale,” Barron said after his victory.