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If you’re looking for a way to share your love of cars with your kids, and the floor of every room in your house is already a minefield of Lego bricks and errant Hot Wheels, there’s a new alternative that will also teach them how cars work.
Thames & Kosmos, a company that specializes in educational toys, has a model car kit with a working engine, transmission, differential, and suspension. Even better, the engine is a V8 and the gearbox is a four-speed manual. At $39.95, the kit is only a little pricier than an entry-level Lego Speed Champions set or traditional plastic model kits. But neither of those can show how cars actually work.
Thames & Kosmos
Sporting the classic cigar-on-wheels shape of a prewar Grand Prix racer or Indy roadster, the model has a tiny V8 engine with a rotating crankshaft and pistons. The block is clear so you can see everything moving, and the other components have the same level of detail. The transmission has miniature gears, synchronizers, and input and output shafts, plus a working shifter to row the gears with. An electric motor (powered by two AAA batteries) attached to the input shaft spins everything.
Just like in a real car, the rotational energy is transferred to a differential. Again, the basic workings are replicated in miniature, with a ring and spider gear splitting power between the left and right axle shafts. Double-wishbone suspension with coil springs is also faithfully replicated, and this open-wheel car makes it even easier to see the suspension at work. The steering wheel can also be mounted on the left or right side of the cockpit.
Thames & Kosmos
The kit consists of 233 pieces and comes with a 40-page manual that provides both assembly instructions and explanations of key mechanical engineering concepts, according to the online ad copy. It’s recommended for ages 10 and over.
Toys can show kids that cars can be cool, and video games can show them that driving can be fun. This will give them an appreciation for the engineering that makes all of that coolness and fun possible, plus a modicum of patience from having to assemble all of those tiny parts the correct way.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
