Gamer Brings WipEout Out of the Screen and Into the Real World

Gamer Joseph Hallam spent years fixated on a single all-consuming goal: bringing the rush of WipEout’s anti-gravity racing to life in a way he could get his hands on. Those computerized ships flying through neon-lit tracks had a hold on him unlike just about any game he’d ever played. As a long-time slot car enthusiast, he’d always loved Scalextric and the vintage Carrera models, but the stiff tracks just didn’t capture the same sense of wild unpredictability he got from the original Wipeout. But all that changed when the Carrera Hybrid came on the scene.

Hallam jumped headfirst into this project around this time last year, and that’s when the real frustrations began: months of trial and error that tested his patience. The Hybrid ditched the slots altogether – no more grooved tracks trapping the cars in fixed patterns. These little rechargeable speedsters, scaled at about 1:50, zip down the track on their own batteries, lasting about 30 minutes before needing a recharge . As soon as you’ve got the app open on your phone or your Bluetooth controller connected to the track, you’re good to go – just tilt to turn and fiddle with the throttle to get the speed you want. You can even tweak the tyre grip or the braking mid-session to get an edge. The AI helps out with the track design, keeping an eye on the layout to stop you having to constantly correct the cars, but it also lets you let your hair down and make some daring passes or drifts round the corners. And it doesn’t stop there – you can have up to 16 cars battling it out head to head, complete with screaming engines & flashing lights – it’s all brought to life by the app.

Every single bit of track was created through some old-fashioned kit-bashing – basically just a hands-on mashup of bits from the store, some bespoke prints and a healthy dose of creativity. The base tracks were made from the standard Carrera stuff, just simple interlocking plastic bits that you can snap together quickly. But when you want to get really creative, Hallam breaks out his 3D printer : massive barriers, swooping ramps, & the famous Wipeout loops that twist the cars into impossible shapes. He just takes the track ideas from the game, scales ’em up to match the Hybrid’s speed & handling, and then goes for it. The gaps are filled in with some elevated bits stuck in place by a bit of aluminum strut & an acrylic support frame. Then there’s the blue LED strips running under the whole thing, casting an electric glow through the translucent panels, and to top it all off you’ve got white strobes flashing at the important turns to simulate the game’s speed pads & weapon pickups.


Ships were the stars, as Hallam turned Carrera’s Porsches into WipEout legends—Feisar’s silver ships, AG Systems’ blue racers, and maybe a Piranha wedge for aggression. 3D printed bodies slide over the chassis, revealing lit cockpits and fibre optic plasma trails. Batteries fit inside without adding weight and the AI keeps them glued to the edge during high speed dives. Hallam tested dozens of prototypes, tweaking the weight distribution to get sharp corners without flipping. One early version destroyed a loop on the first lap, but the underbody fins sorted it out for good.


Racing footage shows four ships launching from a lit grid, engines whining as they hit the first banked turn. One goes wide to pass, tyres squealing as the AI nudge brings it back in. They drop into a corkscrew, lights blurring into streaks, before shooting through a tunnel filled with flashing neon. Crashes generate real sparks from the contact points and the app times laps to the millisecond. Hallam races solo against the AI or invites friends to multiplayer where taking a shortcut off course has real consequences. The track goes on for ever but the chicanes and elevation changes require precise timing to not crash.
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