Drift cars, Sturmkind

Drifting and racing in your living room? Drift cars combined with an app from Sturmkind make this possible.

Drifting in the living room - with remote-controlled model cars

Klas Bömecke: This is something completely different to what I've seen from remote-controlled cars before. This car can really drift, how is that possible? Martin Müller: It's actually not a remote-controlled model car, but rather a complete driving simulation, i.e. a computer game that runs on a smartphone, except that we have taken the output away from the screen and into reality. So our car is a small robot that is, so to speak, the output medium of a complex driving simulation that runs on the smartphone. Klas Bömecke: What do you mean by complex? Is that somehow realistic? Martin Müller: Absolutely, we calculate everything. Horsepower, drive, the concept, all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, I can set "on wet roads" or "on dry roads". Klas Bömecke: In such a small model? Martin Müller: Everything is done using simulation. And this car is able to bring a driving simulation as we know it from the PC and calculated driving behavior into reality based on what you have controlled. You could perhaps also say that the physical world around you is scaled down with the car, so this little car suddenly drives as if it weighed 1.6 tons, as if it had 56 hp and all these things.

Drift cars: Authentic driving behavior thanks to a sophisticated app

Klas Bömecke: So it has exactly the same driving behavior as the original in large? Martin Müller: Exactly. Same acceleration, same braking distance, oversteer, understeer, everything a real car would do. Klas Bömecke: Of course that's special, can I try it out? Martin Müller: Of course, the brake is on the left. The accelerator is on the right and the handbrake is in the middle. But it works quite well to start with! Attention, brakes! Klas Bömecke: And you hit the wall straight away. It's a good thing it's only a miniature, otherwise it would have been expensive! Martin Müller: We don't have a damage model yet, it's all good! Klas Bömecke: But it's also totally crazy, it doesn't drive like a normal car at all! Martin Müller: Yes, it's now in a drift setup where it's extremely aggressive, like a real drift car. You can change it to a race setup, then it drives more neutrally, it's all possible! Klas Bömecke: Oh well.

Drifting like in a computer game - but it happens in reality

Martin Müller: We can do everything a computer game can do, only it happens in reality! Klas Bömecke: Okay, so that makes you unique in the market? Martin Müller: Absolutely unique. You always have it with you everywhere, you can race anywhere, because everyone has a cell phone with them anyway. Klas Bömecke: An absolutely office-friendly toy. Martin Müller: There's never been anything like it! That's also the special thing that made us decide to set up a company. We set up a start-up, promoted the whole thing via Kickstarter, a platform, and have been on the market since the end of last year! Klas Bömecke: That means it's still brand new! And that's just the beginning. What's coming next? Martin Müller: This is really just the beginning, this is a product that we have developed in principle, but the concept behind it creates endless possibilities for expansion. The car is basically the basis that we have and everything else is software development. Klas Bömecke: I'm curious about that. What do I have to spend at the moment to have fun? Martin Müller: The vehicle costs €199. The driving simulation, the racing game is included. Sounds a lot at first, but you have to know that it includes a complete computer game and the vehicle is made in Germany. So from development to production to packaging, everything is made in Germany. Klas Bömecke: Cool thing, I wish you lots of success with it!

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