A Bobby Car is a

toy car A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aime ...

designed for children from the age of around twelve months. The Classic model is red, made of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

and is about 60 cm long and 40 cm high. It has four wheels. The car has been produced by the BIG company since 1972 at sites in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...

and

Burghaslach Burghaslach is a municipality and a market town in the district of Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim in Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Neighbouring municipalities to Burghaslach are Geiselwind, Schlüsselfeld, Vestenbergsgreuth, Mar ...

in Germany. After the death of the Bobby Car inventor Ernst A. Bettag in 2003, the

Simba Dickie Group The Simba Dickie Group is a German toy manufacturer founded in 1982 as Simba Toys. The Group is the fourth largest toy manufacturer in Germany. The company's slogan is "We love to make toys". The company's headquarters are located in Fürth with ...

took over the company. The name ''Bobby Car'' is protected. Since 2005, a new Bobby Car has been produced for which the Classic design was revised.

Bobby car for children

The Bobby Car was invented in order to help children learn to walk. It has a kind of seat in which the child can sit as on a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

. By swinging their legs, the child can move the car. Today, numerous accessories exist such as connecting rods, light running tires, trailer and so on. As well as being manufactured in different colours, it also comes in variants such as a police car or tow truck. Special editions have been made to honour well-known German cars, such as

Mercedes-Benz SLK The Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class is a compact executive roadster, produced by Mercedes-Benz. It was released in 1996 and was built at the Mercedes plant in Bremen, Germany, until the end of production in 2020. The former name "SLK" was derived from ...

, Audi TT,

Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * '' SMart'', a children's television se ...

and

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

. In cooperation with tire manufacturer Fulda, a model having real tires, rather than the usual hard plastic variety was produced.

Bobby Car Racing

In the 1990s another use of Bobby Cars emerged: Professional competitive driving. The plastic body is strong enough to carry an adult. The steering element and the axles are strengthened to handle high speeds (approximately 60 km/h). Competitions are held on closed roads with steep downward gradients. The official world speed record of a modified gravity-powered Bobby Car was set on 28 May 2022 by Marcel Paul from the Bobby Car Club Altenhain /

Bad Soden Bad Soden (; also: ''Bad Soden am Taunus'') is a town and spa in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, Hessen, Germany. It had a population of 22,563 , up from 21,412 in 2005. Information Bad Soden is a residential town for commuters working in Frankfurt am ...

, who achieved a speed of 130.72 km/h. The speed record in the second discipline with a classic bobby car with plastic tires at 106.01 km/h was also set by Marcel Paul. The Record Institute for Germany has recognized both top values.
ntv: Mehr als 130 km/h Hesse bricht Bobby-Car-Weltrekord (German).

References

{{Commons category, Bobbycars Toy cars and trucks Toy brands