This is the Harrington 250 California Spyder, it’s a minicar that can accommodate either one adult or two children, it has a steel chassis, independent coil over suspension, Brembo brakes, and a top speed of 47 km/h.
Now you might be looking at the Spyder and thinking that it bares more than a passing resemblance to the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder made famous by the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, however for legal reasons I need to assure you that any similarities in the design are purely coincidental and probably just a figment of your imagination.
Each Harrington Spyder starts out on the chassis jig, where a box section tubular steel chassis is welded together. From there the front and rear coil over independent suspension is added, along with the dual piston front Brembo brakes and a single inboard Brembo brake on the rear.
The chassis, suspension, and braking systems are all vastly more advanced that we’re used to seeing on the more common go kart-based car scale models.
Power is provided by a 125cc front-mounted engine that sends power to the rear wheels via a 3-speed sequential semi-automatic gearbox (with reverse) and a “unlimited slip” differential.
Steering is by rack and pinion and the car has a composite GRP body that can be finished in any color you like, with red being the most sensible choice, with black, silver, and yellow also being popular.
The top speed of 29 mph (47 km/h) may not sound like much, but it does seem rather brisk when your buttocks are only a few inches off the ground.
According to those (adults) who have driven them, the Harrington 1:2 scale cars are remarkably fun, and with a top speed of 47 km/h they can get a little sideways on the dirt (pictured above).
Harrington currently has a full range of 1:2 scale cars in production including the Cobra 289, XK120, Willys Jeep, 300 Roadster, Daytona, the Series 1 (E-Type), and GB Spirit (DB5). There are also a number of 1:2 scale 1960s-era Formula 1 cars on offer and a mini Land Rover – excuse me I mean a Land Junior.
The prices are not published openly however Harrington does encourage people to enquire, there are also secondhand examples that come up for sale occasionally on both sides of the Atlantic.
If you’d like to read more or enquire about buying one you can visit the website here.
Images courtesy of Harrington
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
