Click above for a few more shots of the World's Smallest solar racer

These days, one of the most-heard complaints about cars in the United States is that they are too large. Each new generation, for some reason, needs to somehow one-up its predecessor by adding a few inches of girth in every direction. Today we find a new car which bucks this trend, and it's solar-powered to boot. While it's not likely to make much of a difference on our nation's roadways, it's still really cool and worth sharing. Measuring just 33×22x14 millimeters and fitted with a tiny solar panel at the top, this pint-sized solar racer is capable of running on light from the sun or even from a bright lamp indoors. Want one? It's available in the U.K. for just £11.99, which equates to about $22 in the States. Thanks for the tip, Shrawan!


[Source: Inhabitat via IndianAutosBlog]

I'm sure that you've seen those old weathervanes that people put up on top of their farmhouses, right? I seem to recall a certain copper rooster that my family had in our possession at one time or another. In this day of super-modern-style homes, how much cooler would it be to proudly display a Loopwing Wind Power Generator Set instead. It would look so much cooler if it was positioned near some roof-top solar cells too.

The Loopwing product was made in collaboration with Tamiya, who makes many toys and radio-control model kits. This particular toy does not appear to be controllable, just turn it on and let it go. Apparently, the power provided goes into a capacitor which will allow the car to operate for a full 3.5 hours, assuming there is enough wind, of course. I like this so much more than the hydrogen fuel cell cars that we've shown you in the past, and this one only costs thirty bucks.

Related:

• Have some fun in the sun with solar powered toys
• Batteries seriously not included: are fuel cells just another child's toy?

[Source: Tokyomango via Engadget]