Ewan and Isobel test out the car © Chris Foster/MOSI
A fantastic new remote controlled car that can climb walls and drive across ceilings has been invented by Manchester Business School student Vernon Kerswell.
The gravity-defying Vertical Racer is set to be the novelty Christmas gift of 2008 and a special launch event was held at the Museum of Industry and Science (MOSI) in Manchester this week.
The product is creating a storm of publicity and has appeared on the national news after wowing kids at its launch.
“Newsround came to film us at MOSI and we had some children road testing the product,” said Vernon.
“They absolutely loved it as they have never seen anything like this before – it’s a really new product and they were absolutely amazed to see it travelling up the walls and across the ceiling.”
He added: “The car works using hovercraft technology in reverse and uses suction to stick to the wall. A cushion of air is sucked through the floor of the car through to the outside and because of the cushion it doesn’t leave any marks on the walls or ceiling so we hope that this means it won’t be driving parents up the wall.”
Inventor Vernon Kerswell © Chris Foster/MOSI
Vernon hopes that the product will inspire the inventors of the future and show that science can be used to have fun.
“I think a fun product like the car will help to get kids interested in science as they can see that if you learn what you can from text books as a student you can turn it into something cool,” he said.
“I started running Extreme Fliers when I was a student and went to China for a crash course in must have products and travelled around looking for new ideas. I came back and worked on the ideas with my friends at university and when we came up with the car I took the idea to China and managed to get it manufactured.
“We have got a lot of orders for Christmas and we have 25 shops across the country who are selling the product. We want to roll the car out to all of the toyshops in the UK and turn it into a multi million pound product within 12 months.”
The gravity-defying car is only the beginning of Vernon’s inventing career and he hopes to launch further products onto the market next year with the help of some famous buyers.
He said: “We are working on a top-secret project at the moment that we are hoping to take onto Dragons Den next year but we are not revealing any ideas – it’s a really exciting time for us.”
The product is on sale from the Museum of Industry and Science shop or online at www.extremefliers.co.uk. To see the car in action click on the YouTube link below.
