Cancer has conquered another legend in the automobile community. Ryu Asada, who designed cars for Hot Wheels and Matchbox, died at 42 of colorectal cancer.
The announcement came via Asada’s Instagram. He battled Stage IV colorectal cancer for nearly five years, undergoing a variety of treatments while remaining on the diecast design teams. He died on March 23, 2021 with his longtime partner, Hazel Diaz Asada, at his side.
Asada was born and raised in Japan, later moving to the United States to pursue higher education. He graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in 2004, when he immediately started working at Mattel as a car designer Matchbox. There, he estimated that he had created more than 150 different designs of diecast molds.
He moved to the Hot Wheels team as a guest designer, his first design being Gearonimo in 2009. He joined the Hot Wheels team full time, where it was estimated that he created 20 to 30 1:64 models a year. He took control of the $ 1 schedule in 2012. You can find a complete list of his designs here.
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But some of his brilliant design stars were the cars of his native Japan. Asada helped fuel the JDM diecast craze through his passion for his designs. People have fallen head over heels for their Honda S2000 NSX designs, their FC Mazda RX-7 and their Lancia Delta Integrale HF.
Two of Asada’s most recent designs were part of the mini J-Imports collection, which included several different Japanese classics. He was responsible for the custom 1970 Honda N600 and the 1999 Honda Civic Type-R.
Diecast collectors around the world have been sharing kind messages about Asada, a man that many of them deeply respect.
Asada’s loved ones are in our thoughts right now. Cancer sucks.