I built one of the Packard kits when I was about 12. One of the few times I received a model kit as a gift. Somewhere along the line it disappeared. A few years ago I found a nicely-built one for a reasonable price at a show. Now on display in a case in my bedroom.
The bicycle wheel? Part of the "road test" equipment included in the kit. It's called a 5th wheel. Connected to an electronic recorder, it measured acceleration, speed and distance.