Photo: Hammacher Schlemmer
Merge a Shelby Roadster with a MINI Roadster and add a bit of childhood innocence and you may end up with this contraption. It’s an expensive Christmas present alright, but it raises to its price considering it may as well turn your kid into the next Lewis Hamilton. If not, at least you’ll get your quiet evenings once “he starts the engine.”
The design this Arcade Mini Roadster Simulator appears to follow is quite innovative considering it unites two trends - the classic and the modern. While the Shelby remains an icon of its time, the convertible version of the Coupe is still one of the cutest looking two-seaters. With the latter, one can choose from a range of 1.6-liter gasoline engines in various levels of power and a 2.0-liter diesel output offered in some markets.
There’s no gasoline running this contraption, though; instead you’ll need an average AC to plug it in. The only setback is the fact that it’s a single-player arcade game, but it does pitch and roll as drivers zoom their small roadster around a simulated race course. Perhaps not the Formula One simulator racer drivers train with, but this thing does offer youngsters more entertaining and immersive racing experience than computer games.
The rally-stripped roadster’s chassis sways as drivers lean into turns and gently bucks when it hits rough terrain. Keeping things accurate is important, as your kid will operate the vehicle like a driver would a true roadster, pressing the foot pedal to accelerate and turning the steering wheel to navigate the course.
Both the car and its movements are then replicated on a 19-inch LCD monitor integrated into its windscreen that displays elapsed time, score, and speed. Like any video game, it does come with some unique features such as the jump button that launches the virtual racecar airborne to avoid obstacles and collect bonus points.
The roadster’s brightly colored fiberglass body sports realistic details such as lighted dashboard with a full bank of gauges, working headlights and taillights, side-mounted rearview mirrors, dual exhaust pipes, and chrome wheel covers.
As mentioned above, this thing may be the perfect Christmas gift, but you’re going to have to be willing to pay $6,900 for it first.
There’s no gasoline running this contraption, though; instead you’ll need an average AC to plug it in. The only setback is the fact that it’s a single-player arcade game, but it does pitch and roll as drivers zoom their small roadster around a simulated race course. Perhaps not the Formula One simulator racer drivers train with, but this thing does offer youngsters more entertaining and immersive racing experience than computer games.
The rally-stripped roadster’s chassis sways as drivers lean into turns and gently bucks when it hits rough terrain. Keeping things accurate is important, as your kid will operate the vehicle like a driver would a true roadster, pressing the foot pedal to accelerate and turning the steering wheel to navigate the course.
Both the car and its movements are then replicated on a 19-inch LCD monitor integrated into its windscreen that displays elapsed time, score, and speed. Like any video game, it does come with some unique features such as the jump button that launches the virtual racecar airborne to avoid obstacles and collect bonus points.
The roadster’s brightly colored fiberglass body sports realistic details such as lighted dashboard with a full bank of gauges, working headlights and taillights, side-mounted rearview mirrors, dual exhaust pipes, and chrome wheel covers.
As mentioned above, this thing may be the perfect Christmas gift, but you’re going to have to be willing to pay $6,900 for it first.
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