Now, the downside is that the kart uses a bunch of crazy parts, including a "not on the market" lithium-ion battery pack, an equivalent to which Charles estimates would cost between $250 and $400, and custom-modded in-hub brushless motors.

Charles , and boy does the final device fly.

Charles also shows up in the comments for with an impressively comprehensive set of links for understanding what he did and how to do it yourself, so while it's not a solder-up-a-kit sort of project it's also maybe not as impossibly daunting to replicate as it appears at first glance.

It's awesome to see hobbyist electric vehicles becoming more of a thing -- the 21st-century equivalent of my cousins' gas-powered go-kart -- and it's not surprising that there's a growing body of specialist knowledge around how to wring the most power out of the available components.

Nor is Chibikart the first such kart to come out of MIT--see for example ( man that looks like fun) and . Also, have a look at some and one of Charles Guan's previous projects, the , a tracked skateboard (!!!). Being MIT students, there's some going on as well. Some of these devices are built for , some -- all are awesome.