“The Great Egg Race” was a much‑loved BBC Two engineering game show (1979–1986) where teams of inventors were challenged to build ingenious, often Heath‑Robinson‑style machines using minimal materials and tight time limits. Hosted across its run by figures like Brian Cant, Johnny Ball, and most iconically Professor Heinz Wolff, the show began with its signature task—creating rubber‑band‑powered “eggmobiles” to transport a raw egg without breaking it—before expanding into ever more ambitious problem‑solving challenges. Its mix of creativity, eccentric British engineering, and playful competition made it a cult classic, later revived in edited form as The Great Egg Race Rides Again.
