As you may or may not remember, a few years ago we posted photos
In the words of Redfearn himself:
The strange thing was, the week before you wrote the article, my wife and I had decided we were going to stop producing the junior cars, as they were so incredibly labour intensive to produce and not so profitable. We were very limited to how many we could manufacture?3 cars per month!
The night before your article came out, I was just telling my cousin who lives in Australia how we planned to wind down that business. He was telling us how crazy we were to do so. The next morning we woke up to more than 300 inquiries for our junior cars. Over the coming weeks, as other websites and blogs picked up on the story, we were literally inundated with inquiries for our cars.
But before his work really took off, it all began when Redfearn decided to share his love of classic cars with his then two-year-old nephew, Ayrton. He wasn't satisfied with the quality of toy car currently floating around, so taking matters into his own hands, Redfearn sketched out a child-sized Porsche 356 model and ultimately built the actual prototype and fiberglass molds in the street outside their home in Saigon.
Thus, Group Harrington was born.
While the toy cars were more of a hobby at first, Redfearn found himself handling two years' worth of orders after the post went live. But with this renewed interested, he decided to do a complete overhaul to his cars' design and spent the last two and a half years developing the newest model. In his own words:
Our old models were essentially very pretty go karts. Rear engine, single wheel drive, no suspension, single rear disk brake, small scooter wheels, and very much hand built with each part being machined and made individually. Almost no parts aside from the engines and wheels and gear knob were interchangeable between the models. Also, the cars were a little small?at least for adults to use.
So starting with a clean sheet of paper, I decided to make the new models as REAL cars on a miniature scale. As such, our new models have the following features:
Front mounted engine.
Rear wheel drive.
Limited slip differential.
Independent suspension all round.
Rack and pinion steering.
Disk brakes front and rear. Brembo 4 pot calipers!
Separate steel chassis.
Adjustable pedal box so both adults and kids can comfortable fit.
Rear mounted fuel tank with electric pump.
Wide custom made alloy wheels.
Opening hood and trunk.
Open grilles with more than adequate cooling (this was hard to do with rear mounted engines)
Bright LED lights.
While there are, of course, small differences between each junior car, pretty much everything under the skin (suspension, drive, axles, brakes, etc.) is totally universal, making them far easier to fit and consequently produce. With a team of 32, Redfearn is now able to produce 8-10 of the junior cars every month. And these rides don't just look sweeter, they're handling better too:
The difference in terms of performance is staggering. They are lighter, faster, handle incredibly, and are far more comfortable to sit in and drive. Even though they are only 110cc, they can reach 73 kmh in standard tune. It doesn't handle like a go cart, but like a car! And the weight balance front to rear is great?they are the most flattering car to hoon and drift that I've ever tried.
Another thing we took into account was the ability to modify, tune, and customize. The engines are 110cc quad bike engines built by Loncin (a Honda subsidiary). We've been using these engines for 9 years and have nothing but praise for them. Never once has one broken on us or any customers we've heard rom. They're basically the standard Honda engine found in cub motorbikes, trikes, quad bikes, PT bikes, etc. These ones are 110cc 3 speed with reverse semi-auto (no clutch) and an electronic ignition with electric start. You can buy after market tuning kits for them, which can boost the capacity to 190cc and double the power. The chassis are more than capable should someone wish to do this. We have also designed it so you can change the gearing very easily?without pulling the car apart (there's access from underneath).
Right now, the group is in the process of producing the AC Cobra and Ferrari 250 California Spyder, with plans to launch the Jaguar XK120 and Aston Martin DB5 soon. They're currently accepting orders, but you can also check out one of their distributors in any of the following countries: UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. You can also check out videos of the cars in action on their YouTube page. And for as absolutely gorgeous as these cars are?they also look damn fun to drive. Check out the Group Harrington site for the whole lineup.
Thanks to Nathan Redfearn for the photos and update!
Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-adorable-mini-sports-car-has-gotten-a-remarkable-up-563566055
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In a move that’s sure to make gadgeteers cheer and worry worts grumble, the Federal Aviation Administration (lovingly called the FAA) is reportedly making plans to relax some of the rules put on passengers regarding in-flight use of electronics. Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. It’s not the first time we’ve seen promise of our Kindles during take-off, but it appears that the FAA is at the very least moving in the right direction. If you have miraculously managed to avoid commercial airline flight, the usual practice on a plane ride is to turn off all electronics during take-off and landing, usually during the climb to 10,000 feet. The rule was implemented in the sixties, when electronics more easily interfered with the electronic equipment in the plane’s cockpit, posing a clear threat to the safety of everyone on board. According to the WSJ, citing a draft by a high-level advisory panel to the agency, fliers will be able to use electronic devices during take-off and landing, but cell phone functionality is still banned. These amendments to the law are still up for modification, as they haven’t passed through the FAA yet, but it seems clear from the report that everyone agrees on one thing: the rules are highly outdated. The draft also cites that recent industry research shows that one third of passengers, at least once in their life, have forgotten to turn off electronic devices in the danger zone. It’s interesting to see the evolution of our technology enact grand-scale change to an industry that’s sometimes overly cautious. Especially when the transformation is relatively recent. It was only a year ago that the International Air Transport Association was claiming that gadgets in the sky are more dangerous than we expected. Still, it’s been a long time coming considering that iPads are used in cockpits and (as stated above) many fliers forget to turn off their electronics anyways. So who’s up for a game of Dots?
