Commodore Launches C64C Ultimate: A Replica Rebooting the 1986 Classic Mold
Commodore today officially announced the C64C Ultimate, a new model version of its highly acclaimed Commodore64 Ultimate, to be released in 2025. The new model changes the body appearance from the classic "bread-bin" shape of 1982 to the slimmer C64C body design introduced in 1986.
The biggest highlight of this product lies in the manufacturing process of the shell: Commodore successfully located and repurchased the original injection mold used to produce the C64C plastic shell in that year, bringing the industrial heritage of the 80s directly back to modern production lines.
This mold itself has a rather legendary history. It was initially put into use in Japan, then transferred to Commodore's factories in Pennsylvania and Dallas, USA, discovered at an auction in 2014, survived a factory fire, and eventually came into the hands of Individual Computers. Currently, Commodore has completely bought back this mold from IComp.de and is using it as a basis for remolding and mass production.
Due to the use of original tools, the new machine's shell retains subtle "flow marks" that existed during mass production in 1986. These marks come from the special flow patterns formed by the dual-point plastic cooling scheme adopted at the time, which were originally unintentional by-products of the process. Now, Commodore considers them "authentic marks" proving pure lineage and a selling point of the product's "vintage feel."
In terms of internal hardware architecture, the C64C Ultimate remains consistent with the existing "bread-bin" version, still based on FPGA to achieve cycle-accurate simulation of the Commodore 64, while pre-installing demo programs and game content, and including a spiral-bound user guide covering complete introductory information from basic operations to BASIC programming. Commodore plans to offer three different versions, all of which are now available for pre-order and are expected to ship by the end of 2026.
The standard BASIC Beige version is priced at $299.99 and features a classic beige body color, corresponding to the look closest to the traditional C64C. The Starlight Edition is priced at $349.99 and is equipped with a translucent shell and dynamic LED lighting effects that change with the game, catering more to the visual preferences of modern players and collectors. The Founder's Edition, positioned for top-tier collectors, is priced at $499.99, featuring PVD-coated gold keycaps, a 24K gold-plated nameplate, and a translucent white shell, pushing the retro sentiment and high-end display attributes to the extreme.
Commodore stated that the C64C Ultimate is only the first step in its 2026 new product plan, and more new products will be announced successively throughout the year, continuing to expand the product line around the direction of combining retro and modern technology.