The speed at which a Hot Wheels car tears around a plastic track is directly proportionate to how high you can build the launch ramp. But to make these capacitor-powered Wave Racers go faster and faster around a track, kids simply need to wave their hands back and forth over the cars as fast as they can to get them revved up.


It's a unique alternative to using a remote to control how fast the cars go, and although it's not quite as calorie-burning as an afternoon spent playing outside, it at least gives kids a little bit of a workout—right?


When available this fall there will be eight different Wave Racers vehicle designs to choose from, and at $10 each they'll include a charger which juices up a capacitor inside. If kids want their cars to run longer when racing, they simply have to wave less vigorously at the start. But if it's a guaranteed victory they're after, they'll have to wave like they've never waved before.

The Wave Racers will also work with a series of tracks that include curves, cross-overs, and other obstacles. They'll range in price from $20 to $40 for complete sets, but individual track components can also be purchased to construct your own custom design. And if you were wondering just how fast or powerful the Wave Racers vehicles are, there's even loops available that can be connected in series.


You'd be lucky to get a Hot Wheels car to successfully complete just a couple of loops before falling off a track, but a fully-charged Wave Racer has enough power to actually race through an impressive 120+ loops, one after the other, before running out of power. If that isn't enough to convince you to trade-up your Hot Wheels cars, nothing will.