The Mean Machine was archetypal villain Dick Dastardly’s race car in the 1968-69 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races.

The series featured 11 racing drivers pitted against each other in various road rallies across America, with each hoping to win the title of the “World’s Wackiest Racer”.

Although Penelope Pitstop, in her Compact Pussycat, and Peter Perfect, in his Turbo Terrific, usually won the races, it was Dick Dastardly and his ever-suffering canine sidekick Muttley who stole the show – or at least tried to.

In his famous over-sized striped hat, driving goggles and handlebar moustache, Dick Dastardly tried every trick in the book to win in his kitted out race car.

The purple Mean Machine featured an abundance of concealed weapons and other cheating devices, was rocket-powered and even had the ability to fly.

Although the other racers shared some of these abilities, only Dastardly had the rocket boosters, meaning he would invariably take an early lead.

But he would always throw this lead away in his obsession to sabotage the other vehicles, which he would attempt through a series of ingenious traps.

Unfortunately, these traps would usually backfire and Dastardly would end up hurting himself or ruining his vehicle in the process.

In one episode, Dastardly raised the Mean Machine up on stilts to race over the other cars, which saw him take the lead ... until he crashed into the finish line’s sign.

In another episode, the Mean Machine was cut in half by a giant saw just before Dastardly crossed the finish line. And so on.

Much to Muttley’s sniggering satisfaction (“sassin, frassin’), all these disasters meant Dastardly never won a race.

In November 2005, though, he did win one award from the Churchill insurance company.

He was named the worst cartoon driver, with the company saying his driving habits meant he was uninsurable.