The Time Out Red Bull Soapbox Race team: the updates

Slow-mo welding. A bit like fireworks. Except that when you're setting off fireworks, you don't have to worry that they won't be strong enough to drop your arse onto the floor at 20 mph

Ok, ok. We think we've cracked it. We now know our aesthetic: steampunk. We've also had a bit more of a think about how this cocktail-creating business is going to work. It's the industrial revolution, right? So obviously we'll build a machine that smokes, whirs and fizzes. And, by the time it's finished rattling around it'll have stirred up our perfect drink. These are the beginnings of our designs thus far…

We were pretty confident we could not crash a vehicle. After all, how hard is it to go downhill? Yeah, after seeing this video of the last Red Bull Soapbox race at Ally Pally, we're not so confident any more. CHRIST.

The theme of this year's Red Bull Soapbox Race is the industrial revolution. Which means… which means… another round at the bar to lubricate our brains. Several rounds later, we've cracked it! Our entry should be based around… BOOZE! More specifically, gin: an industrial revolution era fave for hardened drinkers and people who weren't too worried about going blind.

Who should drive the vehicle? Should it be team captain Alexi Duggins? A man so dangerous behind the wheel that three driving instructors quit on him, he failed his driving theory test and he isn't legally allowed on the roads? Probably not, given this video of a test drive he did. NB the bit where people go "Ooh!" near the end is where he crashes into a wall (sadly uncaptured)