Remote controlled car company Tamiya reveals driveable Wild One model
5.5bhp buildable model can be made into road legal quadricycle
TAMIYA, the remote controlled car company responsible for endless hours of childhood fun in the 1980s, has released a full-size, driveable model that can be made road-legal at request.
The model is based on the Wild One, one of Tamiya’s most popular models from its eighties heyday. It’s been made in collaboration with The Little Car Company, who also worked on the Type 35-inspired Bugatti Baby II and the Aston Martin DB5 Junior.
At 3.5 metres long, it’s approximately eight-tenths of the size of a real beach buggy, though the company insists that drivers up to 6ft 5in will be able to make themselves comfortable.
Like the Grasshopper remote control car that Tamiya has reissued ahead of father’s day, the Wild One Max has to be made at home — though, unless you have very wide doorframes, this isn’t something you can do lounging in front of the telly.
Once fully assembled, the car has a spaceframe chassis, four wheel coil-over suspension, 15in off-road tyres, and brakes from Brembo, which also supplies units to the Ferrari F1 team. These are backed up by regenerative systems that increase range. There are also multiple driving modes to suit a range of driving capabilities, including Novice, Eco and Race.
It can attain a max speed of 30mph thanks to 5.5bhp supplied by a 2kWh battery (for comparison, the battery in a VW ID.4 is 77kWh). Range is somewhere in the region of 25 miles, depending how hard you rag it.
However, all these figures can be upgraded thanks to Tamiya’s characteristic “Hop Ups”, which can improve top speed, add a four-point harness, and even alter the car so that it meets the European standards of a “quadricycle”, by adding brake lights, turning signals, reflectors and rear-view mirrors.
The Wild One Max will be available from 2022, and is expected to cost from £7,200 including VAT. Reservations can be made with a refundable £100 deposit at WildOneMax.com.
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