Engineer builds lifelike slot cars with steering and suspension [w/video]

If idle hands are the devil's playground, idle engineers are a field day of awesome. Gareth Jones is a mechanical engineer with a penchant for slot cars, and when his child grew to an age to appreciate scale cars whirring around a plastic track, he did what any responsible father would do: he went out and bought a new Scalextric set. While Jones found the new cars to be much more detailed and accurate than the models he had known from the '70s, he was frustrated to find models like a '69 Dodge Charger handled just as well as an F1 car. At some point, he decided to right that wrong on his lunch breaks.

Using some rapid prototyping equipment and a few CAD drawings, Jones whipped up a chassis that would allow the bodies to actually lean in a corner. Still unsatisfied, the engineer designed a unique steering system that allows the wheels to look like they actually turn in a corner. Throw in some clever interiors and a custom-designed 1972 Cadillac limo, and you've got all the elements of a great scale electric chase from the '70s. Check out the videos below for a closer look. The A-Team, Starsky and Hutch and the Blues Brothers all make an appearance.