Good Ideas from Germany: Bobby-Cars
Our series featuring “Good Ideas” from Germany begins with a classic toy from Bavaria: Bobby-Cars have long since achieved cult status worldwide.
No other vehicle can claim to be the very first car of so many people. Boys and girls alike shoot off on these push-powered cars almost before they have learnt to walk. 98 percent of Germans know what a Bobby-Car is.
This is a German best-seller that to this day is manufactured in the Franconia region of Bavaria. Every day, 2,000 Bobby-Cars roll off the production line at the plant in Burghaslach. Since this popular polyethylene toy was first presented at the Nuremberg Toy Show in 1972, its manufacturer BIG has dispatched more than 17 million of the cars – which were the brainchild of Fürth industrialist and engineer Ernst A. Bettag.
The Bobby-Car has long since become a worldwide hit, and according to its manufacturer is the top-selling ride-on toy car in the world. It is exported to countries such as Japan, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Dubai and the USA, to name but a few.
The classic version is just under 60 centimetres long, around 40 centimetres high, has four wheels and is Ferrari red in colour. These days the Bobby-Car is also available in pink and blue versions, with a special leopard pattern varnish or in black. There is also a Lightning McQueen model and a “Baby-Porsche”. To this day, however, the most popular version of all is the red vintage model featuring headlight stickers which look craftily ahead like eyes. A special edition was launched to mark the Bobby-Car’s 40th anniversary.
Incidentally, not all Bobby-Cars are enjoyed only by children. For years, an adult fan community has been staging races with specially souped-up vehicles. On closed roads with downhill gradients, championships are held in much the same way as soapbox car races – with a helmet, of course, and with concrete added to the plastic casing. Germany even has a Bobby-Car Sports Association which invites families to fun races and keeps world ranking lists. The top speed record achieved by the pros, by the way, is an impressive 115 km/h.
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