It's the longest Hot Wheels track...In the World. More than a half a kilometre of orange line, winding down a hillside with the express purpose of sending a tiny metal car further than any tiny metal car had gone before.
The Guinness World Record-setting track measured 2,176 feet, 2 1/8-inches, or 663.3 metres, beating a record of 560.2 m set by Mattel, maker of Hot Wheels cars and tracks, the year prior. It takes approximately 3,750 standard Hot Wheels track segments to stretch that long, and the car, a red Cyber Speeder took two minutes, 50 seconds to complete the record run.
Designing and building the track were employees (and their kids) of the Pottsville, PA, branch of Alfred Benesch & Company, an engineering services firm. The goal of the project was to engage children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews of company employees in STEM education.
"It all started in February, when project engineer and Benesch Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee member John Knecht’s son asked him, “Dad, how long of a track do you think we can make?” Bensch said in a post about the record attempt. The company held multiple workshops where more than 40 children and employees participated in track testing, track assembly, and even the design and calculation needed to account for thermal expansion. The reason the track is so winding? The sun.
“It was a great introduction to the principles of science and engineering for young kids. It was great to see almost 50 children there on Saturday morning,” Benesch chairman Greg Brennan said.
Watch a video of the record-setting track below:
