If the time limit in each level was reached, a demon-like creature called Turbo flies into the screen which homed in on the player within 15 seconds, costing them a life.

Both the Amiga and Atari ST versions of CarVup began development in May 1990, and were released in November.

[1] The game's plot was conceived before the team decided on a car protagonist; Robert Toon, CarVup's designer & programmer, stated that the team decided on an automotive aesthetic because "people can associate with cars and, because it has no brakes, it's easy to explain why it doesn't stop moving".

[1] The One gave the Atari ST version of CarVup an overall score of 90%, praising its 'arcade-style' presentation accentuated by its "cute" graphics, as well as its "simplistic" and "tremendous[ly] fun" gameplay.

The One praised CarVup's level design, which when combined with the game's enemy AI, created a challenge which requires skill.