Karting MinilandiaParc Recreatiu · Viladecans
NewsletterNovember 2026
A garage, scrap metal and a two-stroke engine
November 202601The first kart, 1956

Art Ingels built race cars at Kurtis Kraft. In 1956, in his garage in Echo Park (California), he put together a kart out of scrap metal and a spare two-stroke engine.
He tested it in the car park of the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena. Hundreds of enthusiasts gathered there.

National races in Amsterdam, July 1960. Photo: Nationaal Archief (public domain).

Utrecht Grand Prix, August 1962. Photo: Nationaal Archief (public domain).
02Why a kart has no differential

Both rear wheels are fixed to a single axle. The chassis flexes and lifts the inside wheel: the kart takes the corner almost on three wheels.
From the parkThe big karts have a 270 cc Honda engine and can be driven from 1.50 m tall.