The 'EKO Thunder' is designed for children up to 11 years old. The body is made from two compost bins, the mudguards from a water butt and the chassis and bulkheads from 18mm plywood.

You can buy nearly everything you need for your build from us, and choose your level of involvement to suit your free time and your budget. You can cut the floorpan from a full size paste-and-cut pattern, or keep it simple and buy our pre-cut CNC versions (available soon).

If you're handy with a MIG you can make rear and stub axles from steel offcuts (patterns are included), or choose our own pre-fabricated components.

We offer the compost bins and water butt cheaper than you can find them anywhere else on the net, and will even pre-cut them for direct fitment - in fact, we can fully assemble an EKO Thunder on your behalf, up to and including custom paintwork and upholstery.

Power is from a 49cc mini moto engine with electric start - we are currently working on an EV version, too - and it has disc brakes to bring it safely back to a halt.

We think it's really important for children to enjoy the thrill of acquiring driving skills from an early age, and also for them to learn some of the know-how they'll need as qualified drivers later in life, including important maintenance techniques. They can even be involved in the build!

The man behind the EKO Thunder, Ben Rodway (Rodders), has been tinkering with cars since the tender age of 5, when he used to help his Dad with the family Riley hillclimb car. Since then he has been a serial hoarder of motor vehicles both interesting and dull, and has been a contributor to Practical Classics and Classic Car Weekly.

His purchase of the EKO Thunder concept from John Cowperthwaite, designer of the Toylander, the Moss Monaco and the Lightning Swing Bin Racer (amongst others), is the realisation of Ben's childhood dream: to become a sports car manufacturer.

The EKO Thunder was inspired by the ATCO Junior Safety First Trainer of 1939, which was designed to help stem the rising toll of road casualties by introducing children to the skills of driving. Based around a 98cc two-stroke engine, it was the brainchild of the boffins at Charles H Pugh Ltd of Whitworth Works, Birmingham, rather more famous for the manufacture of lawnmowers. The plan was to sell the cars in volume to schools and local authorities as part of a nationwide road safety initiative, and it received widespread backing from press and politicians alike, including the House of Lords Select Committee on the Prevention of Road Accidents.

Over eighty years later - and with the number of vehicles registered for use on British roads having risen more than tenfold in that time - from under three million in 1939 to over 31 million in 2021 - roadcraft and safety is more crucial today than it has ever been.