The Little Car Company, manufacturers of hand built electric scaled cars, today officially reveals the highly anticipated Tamiya Wild One MAX.
Based on the original Tamiya Wild One (58050) radio-controlled car – first released in 1985 – the Tamiya Wild One MAX has been relaunched as a full-scale vehicle and is now on sale worldwide, with road legal versions available for customers in the UK and EU.
The Tamiya Wild One MAX from The Little Car Company represents a culmination of careful design, extensive feedback from deposit holders and subsequent upgrades on the original concept to deliver outstanding performance and usability. Despite industry-wide supply delays, The Little Car Company has taken the time to listen to the community and implement improvements that enhance the overall experience.
The Tamiya Wild One MAX comes equipped with premium features including Cobra bucket seats with 4-point harnesses, a 5″ digital screen with marine-grade switches, Brembo disc brakes all round, and adjustable Bilstein dampers paired with Eibach springs. It utilises 14″ Maxxis off-road tyres front and rear.
To enhance safety and comfort, The Little Car Company has made some modifications to the original R/C car design. The cockpit has been widened to comfortably accommodate two adult passengers, addressing a consistent request from existing deposit holders. Meanwhile, the front suspension turrets have been smoothed, improving visibility and pedestrian safety, while the front suspension itself has been upgraded from a “trailing arm” design to double wishbones. Ongoing development has seen the car increase in size, now measuring 3.6m (141.7″) in length and 1.9m (74.8″) in width. The Little Car Company has also developed a windscreen and wiper mechanism to enhance the car’s practicality.
For off-road enthusiasts, the Wild One MAX offers a ground clearance of 270mm, an approach angle of 34.1 degrees, a breakover angle of 28.4 degrees, and a departure angle of 50.8 degrees.
The Wild One MAX is powered by eight swappable battery packs, providing a total capacity of 14.4kWh, a maximum estimated range of 200km (on road) and a top speed of up to 62 mph (100km/h), with the vehicle weighing around 500kg in total. When existing deposit holders were surveyed about their interest in a road legal version, an overwhelming 95% expressed their desire for it. Consequently, each Wild One MAX has been developed by The Little Car Company to include a road legal pack in compliance with L7e quadricycle regulations* for the UK and EU markets. The Wild One MAX will be available in both left- hand drive and right-hand drive configurations.
Tamiya Wild One MAX Launch Edition
Strictly limited to the first 100 customers who place a deposit, the Launch Edition comes with exclusive features in addition to the already high specification vehicle. Once the 100 Launch Edition examples are accounted for, the company will offer the standard Tamiya Wild One MAX vehicles at the same price and in an unlimited number.
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.
Ben Hedley, CEO of The Little Car Company, said: “Here at The Little Car Company we are on a mission to show that electric cars can be fun. We believe that you don’t need one thousand horsepower, stomach churning acceleration or electronic torque vectoring systems to make EVs enjoyable. 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.
I’m extremely proud of our talented engineering team who have brought this iconic Tamiya R/C car to life as a full-size car, capturing the nostalgia of the 1980s and bringing it to a brand-new audience with today’s technology. We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Tamiya community and deposit holders for their unwavering support and invaluable input throughout the design process. Their enthusiasm, suggestions and feedback have delivered what we are proud to unveil to the world today. We’re looking forward to delivering this premium spec version of the Tamiya Wild One MAX with all the “bells and whistles”. Meanwhile, development will continue for both lower specification versions and kits for future launch.”
Production of the Tamiya Wild One MAX from The Little Car Company will commence in early 2024, delivered to customers fully built.
The Tamiya Wild One MAX will be publicly unveiled and on static display at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, taking place between Thursday 13th and Sunday 16th July. The car will be unveiled on the Eibach stand No. 75, for visitors of the show to see up close.
Prices for the Tamiya Wild One MAX start from 35,000 GBP (41,000 EUR), excluding VAT and shipping, with a non-refundable deposit of 3,500 GBP (4,100 EUR). For existing deposit holders, their original £100 deposit will be taken off the final invoice.
Orders for the Tamiya Wild One MAX from The Little Car Company can be placed from 00:01 Thursday 13th July 2023 with the lucky first 100 customers receiving the ultimate Launch Edition. To place a deposit, or to sign up for exclusive updates, please visit: www.wildonemax.com
*L7e definition: Classification of four-wheeled heavy quadricycles designed to carry persons, with an unladen mass of no more than 450 kg (excluding batteries)
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