Daily Tribune
FREDERICK Corro, a long-time car enthusiast, is surprised by the victory as he only had one day to prepare for the competitions. | Photograph by Mark Escarlote for the Daily Tribune
THE souped-up FJ Cruiser looks too good you'd want it displayed just like a Hot Wheels Legends prototype.
Frederick Corro's muscled-up yellow 2016 Toyota FJ Cruiser came in as a last-minute entry in the Hot Wheels Legends Philippines 2023.
So the soft-spoken custom car enthusiast wasn't lying when he said he was shocked when his name was called as the grand winner of the Philippine leg of the competition held last Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Main Mall Atrium.
"I'm super surprised because it's really an unexpected (win) because my rig was a last-minute selection to the competition," Corro told Daily Tribune.
In fact, Corro admitted that he only had a day to prepare for the live judging by no less than Brendon Vetuskey, lead designer of Hot Wheels.
"We're actually joking about my rig's paint job that it looked like we just used a paintbrush to touch it up," he quipped.
"A day before the competition they were still looking for one unit and luckily they picked us. So, we only had one day to make our entry presentable."
Corro's entry bested nine other finalists to land a spot in the Global Semifinals and Asia Pacific Fan Favorite Selection as well as bagging P50,000 worth of Hot Wheels items.
"It's a big honor for me to be chosen among the entries. For me being considered in the top 10 finalists and for my creation to be displayed here in MOA is already an honor. Winning is really an unexpected bonus," Corro said of his truck that took two years to assemble.
Corro's FJ Cruiser is modified from top to bottom. The body is chopped from the under chassis of a truck and all modifications come together perfectly to make it stand out on display but also capable of bringing in the power in extreme offroad races.
Leg winners from different parts of the globe will then compete for the honor of being immortalized into a 1:64 diecast car.
Finishing second was Justin Santos' 1988 Toyota Cresida while Rob Chua's SR Performance Batman Race 2022 entry, which Corro also built, landed third.
Santos received P30,000 worth of Hot Wheels items while Chua got P15,000 worth of Hot Wheels items.
Meanwhile, Manny Dimaculangan's Porsche 911 1974 was awarded Fan Favorite after garnering 2,900 wow reactions on Facebook.
