Bumper cars are cool and all, but they're not exactly what we'd call "a fast ride." In fact, it's probably for the best that they don't get too zoomy, or a nice ride on the dodgem cars at the amusement park or fair would turn out more like a demolition derby.
Before we get any more ideas on that front, check this out: The Guinness World Record holder for the fastest bumper car.
How fast does the average bumper car go? About five miles per hour. Now, there are a lot of factors that go into that figure, since most folks don't get a really good straight away to pick up speed, but we're going to trust the experts here.
So, imagine climbing into a little red vintage bumper car, strapping on your helmet, and cruising down an airport runway at a top speed of 161.476 km/h (100.336 mph).
The brains behind the business belong to Colin Furze, engineer and inventor extraordinaire, who hails from the United Kingdom. Colin has made a practice of making things really fast, including mobility scooters and baby buggies, so it stands to reason that he had a plan in place for the 1960s bumper car.
It took three weeks of build time to create the land speed record holder for bumper cars. Furze added a 600cc Honda motorbike engine to the bumper car chassis. According to Guinness World Records rules and regulations, the wheels and the chassis had to be regulation bumper car size in order for this attempt to count.
Surely, the rules of physics as we know them were challenged with The Stig of Top Gear fame suited up, climbed behind the very small vintage wheel, and rolled down the runway at Bentwaters Airfield of Ipswich, Suffolk, UK.
To set an official time, a representative from Guinness World Records was on hand as Top Gear's The Stig piloted this crazy contraption to an average of 100 MPH.
Of course, now we all want one of these contraptions.
This post was originally published on April 3, 2021.