Johnny Lightning

Johnny Lightning was launched in 1969 by Topper Corporation. The Diecast models were notable at the time for being extremely fast compared to other brands of die-cast cars. Their most important technology was to mold in a small hook under the front axle so that they could be propelled by a lever-driven catapult, far faster than could be obtained by either gravity, or battery powered "supercharger" devices. 

In early 2016, Round 2 LLC,  a toy company owned by Thomas Lowe (who also owned Playing Mantis), revived and reintroduced Johnny Lightning vehicles to the toy market for a second time.

The above text uses material from the Wikipedia article "Johnny Lightning" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.