The Little Car Company launches life-sized Tamiya RC car

Iconic ‘80s remote control car spawns exclusive road legal successor.

There has come a time in every child’s mind (often triggered by the scene in Toy Story where Buzz and Woody drive a firework-powered RC into the back of a moving lorry) where they wished that they could miniaturize themself and get behind the tiny wheel for real.

Now, thanks to an epic collaboration between remote control legend Tamiya and scale car specialist The Little Car Company, you can get close to realising that childhood dream.

Paying homage to one of the most famous RC cars of all time (the 1985 Tamiya Wild One) The Little Car Company (LCC) has created a life-sized EV road-going counterpart. Although the Bicester based company’s bread and butter is crafting exquisitely detailed ¾ sized replicas of historic exotica like Ferrari's Testa Rossa J and Aston Martin's DB5, this time they have switched their ray-gun to enlarge mode.

Adopting a similar philosophy to the ultra-lightweight and simple Mini-Moke of the 1970s, the Wild One is technically classified as a quadricycle — just like the Citroen Ami. Tipping the scales at a flyweight 500kg, three Wild One’s parked on top of each other would still weigh less than a Ford Focus.

Ben Hedley, CEO of The Little Car Company, explains:

“We’ve strived to make the Tamiya Wild One MAX an exhilarating drive by following Colin Chapman’s ethos of ‘Simplify, then add lightness’.

"In my opinion, modern cars are now too large, too fast, too complicated, and too heavy — we believe that there is an alternative. Our goal is to create innovative lightweight vehicles which bring the purity and fun back into driving.”

Despite looking like a toy, there’s nothing childish about the spec. Brembo brakes on all four corners, adjustable Bilstein dampers paired with Eibach springs, Cobra bucket seats with 4-point racing harnesses, and 14” Maxxis off-road rubber, all illustrate how the Wild One is more than just a display piece for car shows.

The headline performance stats aren’t quite as attention grabbing, but to dwell on them would be missing the point. 62 mph flat-out won’t feel like much on the dual carriageway, but for bouncing over a sand dune, we’re not sure you’d want to go much faster. While electric range is predicted to be up to 200km on tarmac, which should be plenty given that you will probably need a rest-stop before the car will.

For the lucky first 100 buyers, The LCC is even offering a special Launch Edition packed with exclusive extras. Highlights include: a carbon key-fob and dashboard, special holographic decals to match the original RC car, and replica wheel nuts.

If you want to feel like an extra from Toy Story you’ll need to part with £35,000. But for that price you’ll also get a coveted original Tamiya RC model to build while you wait for the real thing to be delivered. It’s certainly got our vote, but do you think the Wild One is worth the asking price?