Retail  May 25, 2017

Sphero’s new Disney-related toy its ‘most sophisticated product’

BOULDER — Sphero has debuted a new app-enabled toy fitting into the Disney universe.

The Ultimate Lightning McQueen is an interactive race car meant to be a lifelike version of the red animated speed racer voiced by Owen Wilson in June 16’s Disney-Pixar Cars 3. The toy features animatronic features to mimic the character, and can drive, drift and race, and has a reactive touch to interact with fans.

“From the beginning, we wanted to make Ultimate Lightning McQueen feel as real as he does in the film,” Paul Berberian, CEO of Sphero, said in a prepared statement. “In order to create a scaled down version of his big personality, we worked closely with the team at Pixar to ensure we were getting his nuances just right – such as leaning into turns and expressive facial and body movements.”

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Sphero has a new app-enabled toy that is it’s most advanced yet.

Fans can play with the toy using the car’s app. When not racing it around, fans can put the car in “Watch Me Mode,” where he interacts with the Disney-Pixar Car movies.

The reactive touch consists of five touch panels to help bring the toy to life, Berberian told BizWest in an email.

“The real focus on this product was to bring it to life,” he wrote. “In doing so we wanted to make it as emotive as possible, we gave him real senses…. Our Lightning McQueen feels alive and as real as he does in the film — our custom experience goes beyond just driving.”

The new toy from Sphero — which rocketed to popularity in 2015 when it released a BB-8 droid to coincide with Star Wars’ “The Force Awakens” — is one of five that Sphero plans to release this year.

“We were able to take learnings from our BB-8 and apply those to this product,” Berberian wrote. “The iconic Lightning McQueen character expresses his personality in different ways and therefore required different technology in order to create the best product for Cars fans. [It] is the most sophisticated product that Sphero has ever created. This product is packed with exceptional innovations in robotic technology —  from bumper to bumper.”

The toy retails for $299.99.

BOULDER — Sphero has debuted a new app-enabled toy fitting into the Disney universe.

The Ultimate Lightning McQueen is an interactive race car meant to be a lifelike version of the red animated speed racer voiced by Owen Wilson in June 16’s Disney-Pixar Cars 3. The toy features animatronic features to mimic the character, and can drive, drift and race, and has a reactive touch to interact with fans.

“From the beginning, we wanted to make Ultimate Lightning McQueen feel as real as he does in the film,” Paul Berberian,…

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