I thought my go kart days were behind me. After a short dalliance with one as a project  I chose not to pursue, I felt a sense of relief when it found a new owner; you can read about this failed attempt at go kart restoration here on Barn Finds. The tricky thing is, like any other restoration project, go karts need the full assortment of new engine components, fiberglass body work, and rust repair to the chassis, turning it into a pricey proposition without even trying. But when clean examples of a go kart like this one turn up – a replica of the supremely exotic Oldsmobile Aerotech Quad 4 supercar – it’s hard not to feel the pangs of the past, as I would love to have this awesome piece of garage art in my automobilia collection. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $1,200.

Now, that price makes it unlikely that this kid-sized supercar will find a new home anytime soon. I thought my go kart might be worth $1,000 as there had been some instances of truly nice examples of desirable models going for that kind of money. Mine being a replica of a generic Chevy G20 or Dodge B30 van didn’t have the same sort of eyeball appeal as something like this does, so I settled for a far lower sale price than expected. This example wearing a fairly rare body may command a higher price among go kart collectors, but let me tell you something: the market for collectors willing to spend big money on a go kart is fairly small, so holding out for a top dollar price requires patience to find the right buyer (more than I had, at the time).

The Oldsmobile Aerotech Quad 4 concept was perhaps one of the absolute sexiest concept cars ever made, and certainly one of the top 10 productions of the 80s. The clamshell hood and reverse clamshell engine cover, along with that incredibly slippery silhouette and flat-face wheels, were subtle clues as to just how bananas this thing was: it ran the quarter mile in a hair over eight seconds while pulling 180 miles per hour. Just, wow. While the three horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine is a far cry from what the production version came with, the seller claims the cart is still a blast to drive. I never got mine running, so I can’t attest to whether that sort of output will put a smile on your face when exercised in go kart form.

No matter what happens to this one, I can tell you there’s a very active community behind this era of go kart building that featured detailed replica bodies atop a conventional go kart frame. While not the biggest group of enthusiasts you’ll find, I came away impressed at how hard they worked to keep these old adult toys on the road, and their commitment to finding new owners for an remaining examples still worthy of revival. The bodies themselves can be extremely hard to find, and I can’t recall ever seeing an Aerotech replica prior to this one being listed for sale. The listing reveals that the price has been dropped once already, and I think somewhere in the $700-$800 range should represent a fair price for buyer and seller.