Pinewood Pro Derby Car Design Ideas

Start Your Engines!

Designing a cool car is one of the more fun parts of Pinewood Derby. You can design a creative, funny type of car or a super slick speed racer. I suggest letting your (or your child's) imagination work before narrowing down to something you can actually build. The guide below will take you through Pinewood Derby car design step by step.

Before You Begin

If you are building a car with a child, be sure to let them do as much as possible. The more they do, the more they will get out of it. The design stage is a great way to get them engaged in the project. Have fun brainstorming car designs. Let your child be creative when coming up with car ideas before choosing your final car design.

Pinewood Derby Cool Car Design Ideas

Every year, I always started our Pinewood project by asking my son, "What is your design 'theme' for this year?" (aside from 'Dad, let's make it fast!') A theme got him thinking and usually helped me look for ideas in the area he was interested in.

My son usually gave me simple design ideas like, a cool race car, an airplane, a shark, a pencil, a baseball bat, etc. One year he simply said, "I want a bubble on top." Another year, he wanted grooves on the sides to "channel the airflow." Still, another year he wanted a "tapered look so it was aerodynamic." Once again, it is important to incorporate the child's ideas into the car design so they feel good about it.

Don't worry too much about making a car design that is aerodynamic or you may fall into the trap of the ultimate car or the fastest Pinewood Derby car design. Pinewood Derby cars are not going fast enough, nor long enough for aerodynamics to affect speed in any way. It is far more important to have fun designing a cool car that you can call your own.

Other Places to Look for Car Design Ideas

Glance through Pinewood Pro's Pinewood Derby Car Picture Gallery for car ideas.
Or, simply look for pictures of race cars, or even a cool car you might spot on the street.
Lastly, our favorite place to get car ideas was my son's extensive collection of over 100 Matchbox cars.

Sketch Your Car

Once you have settled on the car design theme, it's time to draw your car. Drawing is fun and creative for a child. To get started, let them draw their idea freehand on a piece of paper. Next, put a pine wood block on a piece of paper and and trace it to get a side view outline, top view, front view, and back view. This gives you an idea of what your Pinewood Derby car will look like from every angle.

Pinewood Car Design - What NOT to Do!

Inevitably, my son would choose a design that was too complicated (e.g., the Batmobile!). Unless you are a master craftsman (or real good with a Dremel), your imagination can be much greater than what you can actually build.

At this point you need to scale the design back to something you feel can be done in the time you have available. One alternative to save time is to purchase a pre-cut pine car that has lots of wood on it. Most of the cutting has already been done, like the stock car from Pinewood Pro, but you can still modify it to your custom design.

Finalizing your Pinewood Car Design

When you have the final car design picked, you should again draw the top and side view on a piece of paper. You can then use this drawing as a template to cut the pine block. To create the cutting template, cut out the car design that you drew on paper, place it on the side of the pine block, and trace it on the block. Do the same for both sides and the top of the block. You can then cut out your cool car design along the lines that you drew on the block.

Nickname Your Car!

When you are done, ask your child to give their Pinewood Derby car an awesome nickname. Coming up with nicknames is fun and is another way that they can personalize their car to make it their own. My son nicknamed his cars Tiger Claw, Neon Demon, Golden Retriever, and Silver Streak.