IN answer to a question I'm not sure anyone was asking, feast your eyes on the 'Firefly', which its maker bills as "the world's first electric car specially developed for five to 10-year-olds", writes William Scholes.
Anyone familiar with the circle of hell that is the 'bikes and ride-ons' aisle in Toys R Us and who has had their shins and ankles bruised by an out of control battery-powered Mini convertible will question the "first" part of Firefly's claims, though there's no doubt its car is engineered to a high level.
As it should be - it costs "£5,750 plus VAT", which is rather a lot.
It does, however, have seats for two, hydraulic disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, independent suspension and an electronic tablet-based dashboard, which makes it sound almost like a real car.
In fact, the Firefly is much more than a toy, and has a more serious purpose - to give young would-be drivers a flavour of what handling a real car is like, with the aim of improving road safety.
The seat and pedals have been designed to fit around children aged between five and 10, though the company says that adults up to 6ft tall can also fit in.
The car has twin electric motors and a top speed restricted to 10mph.
It can be set to operate in either 'junior' or 'experienced' mode. In junior mode, sensors around the car can detect obstacles and bring it to a stop before there's an accident. A remote control function also allows adults to stop the Firefly from 120 metres away...
The Firefly came about when a company called Young Driver, which provides driving lessons to pre-17-year-olds, realised there was nothing suitable for children aged under 10 to learn the basics of driving a real car.
Kim Stanton from Young Driver said they were surprised that "nothing existed for this age range other than plastic toys".
Young Driver will now use the Firefly to offer driving lessons for the 5-10 age group, as well as offer them for sale to the public.
"We know that youngsters will enjoy driving Firefly and that through this they will learn about road safety, finding out about the basics of driving and gaining a better understanding of how it feels to be behind the wheel," said Mrs Stanton.
"That can only be of benefit when it comes to them being pedestrians, cyclists and future motorists out there on the roads."
