zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Unhinged Hacker Turns a Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard Into an OutRun Arcade Game
Unhinged Hacker Turns a Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard Into an OutRun Arcade Game-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:03

If you’re an automotive enthusiast of a certain age, you probably owned at one point. The horrible grating sound of its motor is very likely a direct flight back to nostalgiaville, and who can blame you? The thing was rad. But what if someone made it radder?

Enter who, among other things, has turned a Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard into a miniature arcade version of . The results are even more incredible than you might think.

The process of transformation begins with a small TFT screen and a Raspberry Pi “Picade” controller. It goes way off the rails from there. For example, a slide-type potentiometer was used to make the steering wheel work as an analog input. This takes the wheel’s rotational movement and turns it into a signal that the Picade can understand.

Controlling the throttle is handled by the little plastic gearshift on the side. This required more hack engineering with rubberbands, hot glue and micro switches. Apparently, getting it to work reliably took several iterations. The car’s in-game speed is displayed on the dash, as is engine speed. The fuel gauge is used to indicate the remaining stage time. There’s even a turbo light that turns on when you’ve hit the highest gear.

The best part is that except for the power input on the side, the toy looks almost totally stock and original. Things like volume control switches have been hidden inside the old battery compartment to keep them from spoiling the looks. The time and effort needed to make this lil’ guy work must be staggering. Luckily, you don’t have to do any of that. You can just watch this YouTube video of it working in all its red plastic glory.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
How Richard Hammond's Wife Helped Pull Him Out of His Crash-Induced Coma
How Richard Hammond's Wife Helped Pull Him Out of His Crash-Induced Coma
It’s hard to believe how long it’s been since Richard Hammond nearly died in a crash while filming a segment for . In September 2006, Hammond strapped into a dragster called Vampire, powered by a turbojet engine, and set out to demonstrate what it’s like to drive a land-speed...
Jul 13, 2026
Someone on Twitter Is Posting the Entire 'Fast and the Furious' Movie One Tweet at a Time
Someone on Twitter Is Posting the Entire 'Fast and the Furious' Movie One Tweet at a Time
If you’ve never watched the original, 2001 classic The Fast and the Furious, now’s either your best or worst chance. Some beautiful person has uploaded the entire one hour, 46 minute film in a series of two-minute clips, . With this weekend to put a stop to this blatant...
Jul 13, 2026
My Favorite Design Details From the LA Auto Show
My Favorite Design Details From the LA Auto Show
While most car journalists are sent to every corner of the world to check out and drive the latest cars, the other 95 percent of our jobs is . You can imagine, something like a car, some of the best details are best seen in person, which brings us...
Jul 13, 2026
Rivian Workers Warn UAW of Unsafe Conditions
Rivian Workers Warn UAW of Unsafe Conditions
Workers at Rivian’s plant in Illinois have warned about unsafe conditions at the site, California is investing a further $1 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure and VW has closed a factory that makes manual gearboxes. All this and more in for Monday, November 21, 2022. It’s tough being an...
Jul 13, 2026
Ford Recalls Over 400,000 F-150s for Defective Wiper Motors
Ford Recalls Over 400,000 F-150s for Defective Wiper Motors
has issued a for the due to a possible defect in the truck’s . The recall affects nearly 454,000 late model pickups in the U.S., covering both the 2021 and . The trucks in the recall came with a front windshield wiper motor that could stop working, according to...
Jul 13, 2026
Tesla Recalls 321,000 Model 3s, Model Ys Due to Rear Taillight Issue
Tesla Recalls 321,000 Model 3s, Model Ys Due to Rear Taillight Issue
is over 321,000 vehicles in the U.S. because of a taillight issue that could intermittently cause them not to illuminate. The says the recall covers some and . it was made aware of the issue following three customer complaintsmade in late October of this year. An investigation found that...
Jul 13, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved