This Man Created a Road-Legal Bumper Car

Driving in a bustling, metropolitan city inevitably takes its toll on cars in the form of scrapes, scuffs and dings—it’s why some New Yorkers put on ungainly Bumper Bullies to protect their ride. One driver in the U.K., however, simply embraced that urban reality by creating a street-legal bumper car.

69-year-old Tom Evans, who formerly ran a fairground, fell in love with a purple-speckled bumper car when he saw it on eBay two years ago. His wife surprised him and gave the car as a Christmas gift, which he set out to make it street legal. Called a “dodgem” in the U.K., the three-wheeler had to get working lights and brakes, and was fitted with a 38-horsepower engine pulled from a Reliant Robin. After about $1000 in retrofitting and repairs, it could drive on the freeway and eventually reach a top speed of 75 mph, but Evans understandably sticks to regular roads due to its non-existent safety features.