ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

There's an adult-sized version of the toy car we all had

Forget your Ferarris, this is where it's at

There's an adult-sized version of the toy car we all had
25 October 2016

When you were growing up, what was the first car that you dreamt of owning? A Porsche? Ferrari? Maybe an Aston Martin?

You're all liars.

You know that the first set of wheels that we were all desperate to own was this bad boy:

It had the lot: funky paintwork, four wheel drive, great field of vision. Yes, this - the Little Tikes car - would be our mode of transport for the foreseeable future. Our wagon of choice.

But, even if you were lucky enough to get your parents to buy you one, you soon grew out of it and nothing since has ever come close to the feeling of pure automotive joy you took from driving it.

Until now.

Because the heroes that are John and Geof Bitmead have spent 1,000 hours and around £4,000 building a real, adult-sized version, which is actually a legal, roadworthy car, that can reach speeds of up to 70mph.

He completed his glorious creation - a modified Daewoo Matiz - a couple of years ago, with the aim of using it to raise money for children's charities.

However, they put the car up for sale last October, for an asking price of £21,500, after it failed to bring in enough cash.

Geof told the BBC: "We were hoping it would be out on a regular basis, create some revenue and recoup the money used to build it. But in real life it ended up going out four or five times in two years. So we thought we might as well sell it and if anyone's interested in buying it that will bring back some money for us."

He explained that they'd received a great reception whenever it had gone out.

"They're amazed to see the real thing on the road. I've seen people with tattoos all up their arms walking along the road just cheering at us. There was that kind of response to it. Everybody recognised it. It's part of our life. We see these things in people's front gardens, and now you can see it on the road."

It failed to sell for its asking price, but the last report suggested that they were in conversation with potential purchasers.

Now, just to round off our childhood, if someone could make us a real-life version of the Millennium Falcon, that would be much appreciated.