Real FX
Seven years in the making, and funded via Kickstarter, this small British firm has taken Scalextric-like cars and removed that whole vexing slot-track thing while adding tailored artificial intelligence (AI). So two sensors in each car read the track, and AI algorithms do their best to keep each remote-controlled car within the lines, like an invisible hand guiding it around corners. Clearly physics and a robust trigger finger will cannon you off, but the AI works just hard enough to keep this the right side of difficult. Add a “pace car” mode for car two, which means that children can race alone, and endlessly tweakable sets with pit stops for tyre changes, refuelling and various hazards, and this is a compelling package. Plus, the cars are upgradable in hardware and firmware, so this should keep you happy for a good, long while. Both Argos and Tesco have included Real FX in their Christmas choice list. And they know a thing or two about how to sell toys.
£99.99, argos.co.uk
Anki Drive
The brainchild of a team of high-end robotics PhD students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the only company to date to be launched during an Apple keynote, Anki Drive exists “at the intersection of cars and video games”, according to the company's co-founder and president, Hanns Tappeiner. In a system similar in theory – but, I'm told, in reality actually vastly different – to Real FX, the cars use a camera and optical encoder to scan a rollable, printed mat track, so again, it uses AI, making more than 2,000 calculations per second to stay on course. However, the vibe is far more “video game”, as they are controlled via a smartphone app and the gyroscope of your iThing, and you can shoot cars off the track using virtual weapons. The mat isn't upgradable, you can buy more complicated tracks, but they're all roughly the same size. The advantage here is that as it's app-based, the experience can be upgraded with new weapons, abilities and the like.
£99.99, anki.com
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3D Racers
Now funded on Indiegogo, this is a Hot Wheels-like tiny racing car that can be designed from a selection of parts using the company's proprietary software and then either 3D-printed at home (should you have a 3D printer knocking around) or ordered via one of the company's 3D-printer partners. This means that there are more than 100,000 variations possible, meaning it's as good as guaranteed that each will be unique. In the guts of the car sits a programmable Arduino-compatible central processing unit, which you or your child can code yourself, if the mood takes, or not, if that's too intimidating. You'll have to build your own track, but the car comes with a mobile app to control it, working over a Bluetooth 4.0 network, which adds online scoreboards, an automatic lap counter, pit stops and battle mode.
About £36, 3dracers.com
CarBot
At the lower end of the smart spectrum are CarBots, thumb-sized remote-controlled cars (available in red, blue, green and yellow) that are steered via a smartphone app and a big old infrared transmitter nubbin that slots incongruously into the headphone port. The controls consist of simple speed, direction, boost and fire buttons, so you can indulge in desk-based skirmishes with Barry from accounts. There are four race modes: “drifty”, battle mode (fire infrared rockets and disable opponent's cars), maze mode, where it navigates itself around man-made mazes and “personality mode” – essentially a toddler on a Tangfastics rush. A flip down USB in the tail charges each chariot.
£29.75, morpethmobiles.co.uk
Read more: The 10 Best remote-control toys
Let's Race simulator recreates thrill of Formula One circuit
Parrot Jumping Sumo
Strictly speaking, this is a drone-with-wheels rather than a car, with three USPs: a front camera streams live video to the device controlling it, so you can see exactly where you're infiltrating. It'll jump, too, at heights of up to 80cm. Pesky dinner table in the way? Vault it like a bleepy Greg Rutherford. And three: the wheels can expand or retract depending on if you value speed and stability – it'll hit 2m/sec on full whack – or manoeuvrability. Not so hot – an hour's charge will juice it for a measly 20 minutes. For the physics teachers out there, presumably.
£119.99, www.parrot.com
Scalextric ARC One
It's only taken them 58 years, but the grand daddies of slot racing are finally adding tech- and app-support to their seasoned mix of crawling on carpets, blowing on wire mesh and painstakingly replacing cars. ARC One – App Race Control One – is an app you download to a phone or tablet, which then syncs via Bluetooth with the ARC Powerbase – a £49.99 add-on which connects to the track and counts laps. Then personalise races with driver names, race types, car set-ups and lap limits. More fun is a reaction speed test and a “Garage” mode, which catalogues track pieces and accessories to view your track layout options. Then you can post your race stats to social media.
£129.99 (track, cars and ARC Powerbase), www.scalextric.com
