Cars with built-in video cameras. Today's kids just don't know how lucky they are

When I was a kid, I used to wonder just what the drivers of toy cars might see. Just before I sent my Hot Wheels (or the 1970s UK equivalent) car plunging down its long, long ramp for a date with terminal velocity, extreme G-force and the inevitable bone-snapping impact, I considered what the experience might be like from inside the car.

If I had had the Hot Wheels Video Racers kit, I may have stopped torturing the tiny drivers immediately, because it turns out to be terrifying. The video kit, first peeked at CES this year and soon to be on store shelves, puts a tiny video camera into the driver’s seat. This shoots at 30fps for up to 12 minutes, and you can play back the footage on an LCD screen on the bottom of the car itself.

The car hooks up to a computer via USB and you then drag-and-drop the clips into Mattel’s own Hot Wheels video editor, which lets you chop up video and add transitions, sound and music and special effects.

This is more like a car-shaped video camera than a video camera in a toy car. Which brings us to the accessories. You have a tough camera, and you have a kid. What could be better than combining them with straps, clips, sticky strips and mounting brackets so the kid can put the camera on his bike helmet, skateboard, cat or any other moving object?

The kit, which comes with car, case, USB cable and various mounting devices, will cost $60. You’ll need to buy Hot Wheels tracks separately, or just get on your bike, go outside and start shooting. Available soon.

Hot Wheels Video Racer Video Camera Car [Toys'r'Us. Thanks, Matt!]

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