In the mid-1980s, it was difficult to put down the remote control when parents called for dinner or – even worse – for bedtime. No question: RC cars were all the rage and if there was a dream car among RC off-road vehicles, then it was the Tamiya Wild One. At that time two levers were used for radio control; Today, the modern-day toy kid has the steering wheel in his own hands, because the Little Car Company has made the Tamiya Wild One Max a 1:1 scale reality as a real buggy. Incidentally, the Tamiya has retained its cool appearance from back then as well as its electric drive.
The toy manufacturer Tamiya was founded in Shizuoka, Japan in 1946 and was initially a sawmill and wood dealer, which also produced corresponding wooden models. In 1959, the company decided to start manufacturing plastic kits. In the following five decades, Tamiya dominated the toy sector and produced award-winning kits for airplanes, cars, motorcycles and military equipment. In 1976, the Japanese released their first radio controlled kit: a Porsche 934, using the body mold of one of their famous 1/12th scale plastic kits. Racing series for the remote-controlled vehicles were launched worldwide and the fan community grew enormously in the 1980s. Especially the off-road buggies with names like Sand Scorcher, Rough Rider, Hornet and Wild One became a central part of the range and achieved cult status.
The first 1:1 scale Tamiya Wild One Max looks spectacular and has at least as much off-road capability as the RC model four decades ago. Best of all, the batteries can be changed almost as easily as with the remote-controlled model from the 1980s, and the new Tamiya Wild One Max can not only thunder across the playground, but can even drive on official roads. The toy for the inner child will celebrate its world premiere next weekend at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood at the stand of spring manufacturer Eibach. The first orders are also taken here. The Tamiya Wild One Max or the specially equipped Launch Edition start at 41,000 euros plus VAT in all countries. If you want to reserve a vehicle, you have to pay ten percent of the purchase price to the Little Car Company, based in Bicester, UK.
The performance of the 3.50 meter long sand hopper is manageable with a maximum of 38 hp. But even the continuous output of 20 hp should be enough to have fun on and especially off the beaten track. The eight exchangeable batteries with a total capacity of 14.4 kWh should be sufficient for a range of 110 kilometers off-road and 200 kilometers on the road. The top speed: at least 100 km/h. And if not: the remote-controlled buggies of the time were also eagerly tuned. This is particularly easy with the chassis, because dampers and springs from Bilstein and Eibach can be variably adjusted according to the surface.
If you then want to drive the Tamiya Wild One on public roads, you can’t avoid the corresponding package with windshield, wipers, fenders and turn signals. Otherwise, the sand racer doesn’t offer much more than a frame construction, lots of polycarbonate, 14-inch studded tires, two sports seats with racing belts and a digital display for instruments and a rear-view camera. The first hundred vehicles of the Launch Edition get, among other things, carbon details on the vehicle and the reissue of the remote-controlled Tamiya RC racer from 1985 including remote control, battery pack and charger. Perfect not only to shorten the loading breaks of the big brother.
