Musical Car No 886

At Tech2.0 we’re planning to review car audio in a big way, so what better way to kick off the series than by reviewing a brilliant piece of miniature engineering? Like most innovative products these days, it’s Chinese-made, but let’s not judge it unfairly solely on that account. It’s clearly a landmark in technology; something that’s gone down well with the masses since the day of tube radio. Introducing… Car No 886.

Design and Features
This two-seater convertible morphed with a wagon is stylish enough to make a Ferrari blush. It’s clear that a huge amount of R&D has gone into it – witness the chunky tyres, shiny rims, glossy red paint, and the catchy model name in front: No 886. The windshield is sturdy and the seat covers are a cool silver and black. Turn it over and you’ll see the ‘on’ switch that powers up this li’l monster. Also underneath is a mini axle with small wheels that help the car perform some tricky stunts.

There’s a main speaker below the boot. The driver – of the speaker, not the car – is an 1.5-inch job made of paper, with a regular iron core magnet holding the voice coil. The frequency range is 1-6K, belting out about 2 watts of power. Sensitivity is about 85 dBSPL @ 1 watt, measured at a distance of one meter.

Performance
Once switched on, Car No 886 provides an awe-inspiring adrenaline rush. It plays the Beverley Hills Cop theme, as made more famous (notorious?) by DJ Crazy Frog. The track is called Axle F, I think. This became a popular ringtone that swamped the cellular network, and now it’s in our cool car. Speaking of which, the car moves forward and takes a turn right every two minutes. As a bonus, it will fall off any edge, if the said edge happens to be in its locus of precise movement.

The music is very clear and precise, and sounds much like a telephone, with very spiked mids. In fact there are only mids – and boy, are they loud. The car also performs some tricks with blinking lights inside the trunk, which mysteriously opens up on its own when the music is playing. Another insanely cool feature is the syncopated windows that roll up and down along with the beats. Too good.

Conclusion
Car No 886 redefines the concept of in-car audio, and we hope we get more musical cars to review – especially if they have cool songs like this one (or even louder and funkier). It requires 3 AA batteries, and while battery life isn’t that great – they propelled the car for about 0.31 km before dying – you can’t have everything, can you? At a price of Rs 135, I think this is a steal. Wanna ride along?