Ditch The Pinewood Derby In Favor Of A DIY Wooden Go-Kart Your Kid Can Drive
This motorized plywood go-kart snaps together faster than you can say, “IKEA.”
The Pinewood Derby is a 60-year-old tradition that’s 50 years past its prime. You know what’s cooler than helping your kid work a hunk of wood into a hunk of wood with wheels for a race that lasts 3 seconds? A motorized plywood go-kart that snaps together faster than you can say, “IKEA.”
PlyFly is currently taking pre-orders for summertime delivery on 2.5- and 4-horsepower models. The former tops out at 17 MPH and runs for an hour on a full tank; the latter can hit 25 MPH and goes for 2.5 hours. In either case, the maximum weight is 135 pounds, so this doesn’t fall into the “toys you’re actually buying for yourself” category — you do get to enjoy building it, however.
Your (kid’s) go-kart will arrive in 3 boxes — one with the deconstructed wooden frame, one with the fully constructed engine, and one with the hardware — and can be assembled in a few hours. You’ll have to be handy with some basic tools and know how to follow instructions, but they taught you how to do that back in the Cub Scouts, right?
PlyFly Go-Kart: 2.5 HP Edition ($790); 4 HP Edition ($885)
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