Skip to content
DJN-623 · 1976 VW T2

A Hollywood die-cast story with an unexpected twist

How did my 1976 VW T2 become a Matchbox? And why does it have my real license plate?

The DJN-623 license plate mystery behind Matchbox The Movie.
A real 1976 Volkswagen T2B from Budapest, Hungary.
An official Matchbox model.
And one very real Hungarian license plate.

By David SiposOwner of DJN-623 since 2013Updated September 10, 2026

Start with the plate

1976 VW T2B · DJN-623 · Hungary

Real 1976 VW T2

My real 1976 Volkswagen T2.

Real vehicle

DJN-623

Official Matchbox model

Official Matchbox die-cast model — the same orange VW T2 with the printed DJN-623 plate.

Matchbox

DJN-623

This is my real 1976 Volkswagen T2, used as a hero vehicle in Matchbox The Movie. I knew it had been in the movie. What I didn't know was that it had also become a Matchbox. Then I found one. And that's when things got really strange:

Wait a minute! That's my license plate!

The Matchbox carries the real Hungarian license plate of my actual vehicle — DJN-623 — even though the movie itself uses a different plate.

The license plate mystery

The plate wasn't in the movie.
So how did it end up on the toy?

  • Verified fact

    My 1976 Volkswagen T2 is registered in Hungary as DJN-623.

  • Documented evidence

    The official Matchbox model carries DJN-623 — front and rear.

  • Documented evidence

    The finished movie uses a different license plate.

  • Open question

    So the plate on the model was not simply copied from the final film.

Matchbox The Movie · Hero car casting 2024

In 2024, Mattel was preparing a project that ran under the secret working title CONVOY, and they were looking for a VW T2 for it. I ended up supplying mine.

The director, Sam Hargrave, originally imagined a poison-green VW T2A. When he saw a photo of my orange T2B, he changed his mind. That decision meant the production now needed two nearly identical orange VW T2s. Filming ran in two countries at once — Budapest and Bratislava — so the vehicles had to be matched, or cloned, so that the difference would never show on screen.

Luckily I had a second, freshly restored turquoise 1977 T2B, so that one was ultimately used as the clone. Both vehicles were rented together for the film. My orange bus was filmed in Budapest; the turquoise van, now painted orange, was filmed in Bratislava. John Cena and Jessica Biel filmed their scenes with the DJN-623 bus in Budapest.

Because of that cloning requirement, the orange bus’s divided vent windows were swapped for full glass panes during filming — full panes were easier to source than the divided originals. The second van was modified so heavily for production — it became a so-called kit-car, with the stunt driver able to operate it from the trunk / boot — that it could never be returned to the road afterwards.

Two of my VW T2s side by side — the orange bus is DJN-623.
Rear view of the two matched VW T2s — the orange bus behind is DJN-623.
FILMING

Budapest unit

DJN-623

My 1976 Volkswagen T2B. The real Hungarian-registered vehicle at the centre of this story.

Bratislava unit

1977 turquoise T2B

Freshly restored second vehicle, converted to a stunt kit-car and not returned to the road.

On 15 February 2025 the crew filmed in downtown Budapest, and passersby’s behind-the-scenes videos flooded social media.

Behind-the-scenes TikToks from the Budapest filming — passersby captured the orange VW T2 on set:

Watch on TikTokWatch on TikTok 2Watch on TikTok 3Watch on TikTok 4Watch on TikTok 5
Behind the scenes on the Budapest set — John Cena with the orange VW T2 and crew.
Budapest set, 15 February 2025 — John Cena with the orange VW T2 and camera rig on the riverside.
John Cena driving the orange VW T2 along the Danube on the Budapest set.
John Cena entering the orange VW T2 during filming in Budapest.
Camera rig mounted on the roof — the VW T2 in Budapest traffic during filming.
Filming on the Danube embankment, the Chain Bridge in the background.
Front view during a driving shot — camera rigs above, Jessica Biel visible through the windscreen.
Jessica Biel seen through the windscreen during a take.
Jessica Biel receiving a make-up touch-up inside the vehicle between takes.
FROM THE FINAL FILM

Final film stills will be added following the October 9 release.

Matchbox The Movie logo
Matchbox The Movie logo

John Cena used it.

Jessica Biel used it.

And then Matchbox made it.

Die-casting

Then it became a Matchbox.
With an unexpected twist.

In May 2026, a die-cast collector friend sent me a pre-release image of a Matchbox package. It was a small screenshot from the first announcement of the Matchbox The Movie series. The quality was poor, but my license plate was still visible on it. I told myself it was only a pre-production work photo; the final Matchbox would obviously not carry my real registration. Just to be safe, I ordered a few examples in summer when the die-cast car was officially released. I fell off my chair in shock when I unboxed the miniature representation of my own bus — right down to its real Hungarian license plate. Soon, the same miniature could sit on the shelves of millions of Matchbox collectors around the world.

Most remarkably, the model carries the same Hungarian registration number as my real vehicle: DJN-623. Beyond the overall visual match, the plate itself is reproduced faithfully — same lettering, layout, and front-and-rear placement, just as on my actual bus. The final movie shows a different registration.

Matchbox packaging photograph — card and blister, straight-on.
Moving Parts box.

Volkswagen switched the T2 to the T2B model in 1973, when the indicator lights moved from below the headlights to above them.

The official Matchbox model created for Matchbox The Movie reproduces my vehicle as a miniature die-cast model. Not just one, but two models were created at once: a standard version and one as part of the Moving Parts series with a sliding door.

Another telling detail: my second vehicle had a non-factory Twingo leather sunroof fitted years earlier. That sunroof appears on the standard official Matchbox VW — yet it is missing from the sliding-door version of the same model. The two vehicles used in filming almost certainly confused the Matchbox production team as well.

Several die-cast collectors have already highlighted the unusually detailed, readable license plate.

Short-form fan unboxing of the official Matchbox VW T2.
Watch on YouTube: Matchbox VW T2 review and unboxing
Full-length fan review noting the readable DJN-623 plates. (Playback on this site is disabled by the video owner; opens on YouTube.)
Another fan unboxing of the official Matchbox VW T2.
Watch on YouTube: Matchbox VW T2 fan review
Another fan review highlighting the detailed Matchbox model. (Playback on this site is disabled by the video owner; opens on YouTube.)

Other die-cast fans are already creating excited content around my bus — from unboxing videos to Instagram posts.

A die-cast collector post featuring the official Matchbox VW T2. View on Instagram
Possibly the first known example — we have not yet found another documented one

What we know / what we don't

So how did it happen?

Documented evidence
  • My 1976 Volkswagen T2 is registered DJN-623.
  • The official Matchbox model carries DJN-623.
  • The final movie uses a different registration.
  • My vehicle was used as a hero vehicle in the production.
  • I hold the original production rental agreement.
  • The Matchbox designer was shown the connection and reacted positively.
Reasonable inference — not confirmed

I contacted one of the senior managers working at Mattel headquarters about the plate. This is how they reacted:

“Oh wow! I can only assume they used original reference photos and didn't have the movie version until too late in production! Luck you! You now have a real life matchbox version of your car!!!!”

A warm reaction to the connection — not a statement about how the plate was sourced.

Open question

Where exactly did DJN-623 come from?

We have not yet found another documented Matchbox example featuring the real registration number of the actual vehicle it represents.

  • Verified fact
  • Documented evidence
  • Reasonable inference — not confirmed
  • Open question

Throughout this page, claims are separated into verified facts, documented evidence, reasonable inference and open questions. Nothing here is presented as a mistake by anyone — something extraordinary happened, and we are still trying to understand how.

The 50-year story

Before Hollywood, there was a 50-year story.

Long before my VW became a movie car — and even longer before it became a Matchbox — it already had a life of its own.

Built in 1976, my Volkswagen T2B (from 1973) was delivered new to Hungarian Water Works. A young employee, Mr. Thaly, took the van off a freight train at a Budapest rail depot and used it as a measurement and service vehicle.

In 1984, when the company decided to replace it, Mr. Thaly was given the opportunity to buy it for his family. For the next nearly 30 years he kept the vehicle in a permanent garage. He only took it out when he went summer camping with his family — first with his children, later with his grandchildren — travelling through Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Romania. In those years it still carried an earlier Hungarian registration.

Family camping with the VW T2.
Another summer campsite with the VW T2.

In 1993 the van received its current Hungarian registration: DJN-623. As he grew older and used it less, he sold it to me in 2013. I still drive and care for it today.

My 1976 VW T2 today, still in regular use.
Mr. Thaly, the original owner, with the van.

My vehicle has never been rebuilt or restored. Fundamentally, it still has its original parts. Only the required maintenance, a corrosion-prevention repaint that took place in 2017, and a seat retrim have ever been carried out. It has remained continuously roadworthy throughout the past 50 years and is still entirely original.

The 1976 VW T2 on a flatbed during earlier bodywork and restoration preparations.
The 1976 VW T2 during its 2017 corrosion-prevention repaint — front view.
Year
1976
Model
Volkswagen T2B (from 1973)
Colour
Factory / original orange
Configuration
Left-hand drive
Hungarian registration
DJN-623
Verified fact

1976 → 2026

  1. 1976

    Factory delivery

    Delivered new to Hungarian Water Works. A young employee, Mr. Thaly, takes it off the freight train in Budapest.

  2. 1984

    Private usage

    When the company replaced the van, Mr. Thaly was given the opportunity to buy it for his family.

  3. 1993

    DJN-623

    The van receives the Hungarian registration it still carries today: DJN-623.

  4. 2013

    The second owner

    I acquire the van and still drive and care for it today.

  5. 2025

    Hollywood

    My van is used as a hero vehicle in the production, with John Cena and Jessica Biel filming in Budapest.

  6. 2026

    The unexpected twist

    An official Matchbox model of the van is released — carrying the real registration DJN-623.

The original owner

50 years later, the original owner received a miniature of his own VW.

Portrait — Mr. Thaly, the original owner, holding the Matchbox model.
Mr. Thaly in front of the real VW, with the DJN-623 plate visible.
Mr. Thaly and his wife beside the real VW.

Nearly fifty years later, I gave him the Matchbox model representing the very same vehicle — with the registration he drove for decades printed on it.

I still drive and care for the van today, and I visit him and his wife every year.

50 years. One vehicle. Two owners. A Hollywood movie. A Matchbox. The same real registration number.

Mr. Thaly, the first owner, with the Matchbox model of his own van.

Some movie cars were built for Hollywood.
This one already had a 50-year story.
And somehow, a tiny Matchbox ended up carrying its real license plate.

Provenance

A story that can be documented.

The story is supported by original documentation and photographic evidence, held privately by me.

  • 01

    Original production rental agreement

    Held privately. Reviewed on request.

  • 02

    Vehicle identification

    Registration DJN-623. Sensitive details withheld.

  • 03

    Matchbox model

    The official die-cast released for the movie line.

  • 04

    Matchbox packaging

    Card and blister photographed in full.

  • 05

    Real vehicle photographs

    Editorial and detail photography of the T2.

  • 06

    Production photographs

    Images taken around the production.

  • 07

    Original owner's history

    The 1976 delivery and the owner's account.

  • 08

    Film references

    Publicly released promotional material only.

The complete rental agreement, vehicle identification numbers and other sensitive details are not published here.

About the owner

David Sipos

I have owned DJN-623 since 2013 and still drive and care for the Volkswagen today. This account is based on my vehicle, my production rental agreement, photographs from the filming, the official Matchbox model, and the history shared by its original owner.

Press / media

A curious little Hollywood story from Hungary.

The real VW behind Matchbox The Movie — and the license plate question no one has answered yet.

Suggested story angles

  1. 01

    How the real license plate of a Hollywood movie vehicle ended up on its official Matchbox model — while the film itself shows a different plate.

  2. 02

    The real VW behind Matchbox The Movie: a Hungarian 1976 T2 cast as a hero vehicle.

  3. 03

    The 1976 VW that went from a Hungarian factory delivery to a Matchbox collectible.

  4. 04

    The original owner who watched his 1976 VW become a Matchbox 50 years later.

Contact

siposdavid1976@gmail.com

Media / press enquiries and vehicle questions are both welcome at the same address.