It’s alive!

Over the last couple of years we’ve been sharing the exploits of our pal Tom Armitage and company with their growing fleet of bad-to-the-bone miniature drag racing machines, beginning with the now-internationally famous Postman Pat Van, followed by their small-scale slingshot dragster, that, in addition to its motorcycle powerplant, also has a dose of nitrous oxide onboard. But their most recent creation, and perhaps their most extensive undertaking to date, is the second incarnation of the Pat Van, which aims to take the safety aspect of the pint-sized racer to a new level. And after months of work in their garage nestled away in the United Kingdom, the “Express Van” as they’re calling it is finally up and running.

As mentioned in a previous story, the Express Van features power from an Aprilia RSV 1000 R motorcycle — a 998cc liquid-cooled V-twin producing about 142 horsepower.

Unlike it’s older-but-smaller brother, the new Express Van is slightly longer and a little wider, affording Armitage a little additional leg room, a full containment racing seat, and a full cocoon of bars to protect him in the event of a crash, like the one the Pat Van endured — like a champ, mind you — earlier this year.

With the extra space inside (which is a relative term, as this thing is no more than about four feet long), the team was able to include some bells and whistles not found in the Pat Van, including a larger set of meats wrapped around beadlock wheels and the aforementioned racing seat. But perhaps most importantly for Armitage, the engine was able to be placed to the side of the car in a sidewinder layout, rather than right smack-dab between his legs.

With the body and chassis complete, and the wiring and plumbing more or less finalized, the engine was fired of the first time this week, and with that news, we’re as hopeful as the Pat Van Racing gang that we’ll get to see this bad boy on the track before old man winter shows up.