How do pull back cars work?

Bryan, on the Mechanical Pencil website, takes a look at toy Pull Back Cars.

These cars are pretty magical. By pushing down and pulling the car back just a little, the car builds up significant energy and can shoot forward at super high speeds. Hiding inside the body of the car lives some clever clockwork that propels the car forward.

The wind-up mechanism inside these toy cars was invented in 1970 by Darda, a West-German company.  Before their invention, toys like this required manual winding with a key.

It’s just a toy. There can’t be that many parts, right?

See the details with wonderful interactive graphics here.

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