When I was about 12 my Gran gave me a Scalextrix as a Christmas present. Amazing! Problem was we had to get it back from South London all the way to North Finchley. A long way when the only transport you've got is a clapped out banger stuffed with three brothers or the alternative which was a trek on four buses through the ghettos of West Norwood. We managed and made it back, Scalextrix in one piece, although I had the worst pins and needles ever. I'll tell you now it was a sacrifice worth making.

Now to mark the launch of the new Golf GTI, Volkswagen has constructed a Scalextric track on an epic scale inside a hangar. Oh Yes, as Tennant's Doctor Who would say.

The track features over 200 scale buildings in a space occupying 25ft by 30ft.  It forms the basis for the ‘GTI Project’, a new online game through which you can control the 1:43 scale Golf GTI as it negotiates the hairpins, straights and narrow bridges that make up the track. There’s no need to spend hours setting it up on the living room floor, or for that matter carting it back from South to North. Simply log onto the GTI Project website and you’ll be guided to the virtual workshops of the GTI Project and the track itself.