Kids growing up in the 80s playing with Tamiya RC who ever wished that the 1985 Tamiya Wild One RC Car could be a full-scale, road-legal car someday has their dream materializes. Thanks to a collaboration between The Little Car Company and Tamiya, the iconic RC car is being upscaled to become a real-life, driveable, road-legal electric vehicle called Tamiya Wild One MAX.
Obviously, The Little Car Company Tamiya Wild One MAX is not a 1:1 copy of the RC car; The Little Car Company has made some modifications to the original RC car design. This includes widening the cockpit to sit two grown people.
In addition, the front suspension turrets have been smoothed to improve visibility and pedestrian safety. Meanwhile, the front suspension itself has been upgraded from a “trailing arm” design to double wishbones to improve ride comfort and handling.
Where the RC car did not have a windscreen, let alone wipers, this real-life, road-going version has a windscreen and wiper mechanism.
The electric vehicle further boasts premium features like Cobra bucket seats with 4-point harnesses, a 5” digital screen with marine-grade switches, Brembo disc brakes all-round, adjustable Bilstein dampers paired with Eibach springs, and 14” Maxxis off-road tires front and rear.
I don’t believe the electric motor was disclosed; however, we do know that the Tamiya Wild One MAX has a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and it is juiced by 8 swappable battery packs with a total capacity of 14.4 kWh, offering a maximum estimated range of 200 km (124 miles) on-road or 110 km (68 miles) off-road.
The vehicle measures 3.6 m (141.7”) long and 1.9 m (74.8”) wide, and weighs in at around 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs). For off-roading, the Wild One MAX offers a ground clearance of 270 mm (about 11”), an approach angle of 34.1 degrees, a breakover angle of 28.4 degrees, and a departure angle of 50.8 degrees.
Each Tamiya Wild One MAX has been developed to include a road legal pack in compliance with L7e quadricycle regulations for the UK and EU markets, and it is offered in both left- and right-hand driver configurations. The first 100 customers to place their deposit for the Tamiya Wild One MAX will receive the Launch Edition which will include exclusive extras:
“Each Launch Edition vehicle proudly displays a titanium plaque on the dashboard, acknowledging its status as one of the rare 1 of 100 Launch Edition units. The Launch Edition also encompasses a captivating carbon fibre dashboard, harmonising seamlessly with the matching carbon fibre key-fob. Additionally, in recognition of the vehicle’s influence and significance, Tamiya has decided to reintroduce a limited number of the original Wild One r/c model kits and, as part of the 100 limited-run Launch Edition package, the first 100 customers will be given a coveted Tamiya model kit of the iconic Wild One to build whilst they are waiting for delivery of their full-size car.
To add a touch of personalisation, the holographic decals that are only on the Launch Edition will be replicated at scale, allowing owners to embellish the rollbars on their r/c model vehicles to match their full-size equivalent.”
First deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2024, with all vehicles initially distributed as fully built cars, complete with a road pack for use in the UK and EU. Prices for The Little Car Company Tamiya Wild One MAX and Wild One MAX Launch Edition start at £35,000 (€41,000) plus VAT and shipping, which works out to be about US$45,370. A deposit of 3,500 quids (€4,100) (about US$4,537) is required.
The Little Car Company will start taking orders for the Tamiya Wild One MAX at 00:01 on Thursday, July 13, 2023. There’s no limit to the regular version, btw. You may learn more about this awesome sports adventure vehicle over at wildonemax.com.
Images: The Little Car Company.
