You don't have to be a child of the 1980s to fall absolutely in love with this cool-as-can-be dune buggy, but it certainly helps. This is the Tamiya Wild One Max, modeled after the old-school Wild One – a 1:10 scale radio-controlled dune buggy that starred in just about every issue of Radio Controlled Car Action through the latter half of the '80s. This isn't a scale model, however. You can actually drive this sucker.
If this looks familiar, we actually covered the first Wild One Max announcement back in 2021. Created by The Little Car Company in conjunction with Tamiya, the development process over the last two years has seen the original design evolve considerably. Among other things, the Wild One Max is now considered full size, whereas it was previously billed as an 8:10 scale runabout. Part of the size increase is due to the addition of a passenger seat, so two people can enjoy sand-hopping in this buggy.
On that front, there's considerably more power for which to hop. The Little Car Company says eight removable battery packs supply a total of 14.4 kWh of power. That goes to an electric motor for the rear wheels much like the original radio-controlled buggy, but this one will go 60 mph flat out. To cope with rough terrain, it rides on Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs with Brembo brakes and 14-inch Maxxis off-road tires at the corners. Front suspension mounts have been redesigned for improved safety and visibility, and the trailing arm design of the development car has evolved to a double wishbone layout.
Inside, there's a five-inch digital screen for monitoring vital information. Marine grade switches are used since this is a decidedly open-air vehicle at all times, and occupants sit in Cobra seats with four-point harnesses. For those who want to relive the 1980s in a more public venue, The Little Car Company says a road-legal package will be offered for use on streets in the UK and the European Union. As for North America, the Wild One Max will be available but at this time there's no plan for a street-legal version.
"We are absolutely thrilled to be one step closer to revealing our Tamiya Wild One Max Launch Edition," said Ben Hedley, CEO of The Little Car Company. "Whilst there have undoubtedly been a few hurdles along the way with industry-wide supply issues, our team have done a tremendous job of bringing an R/C car to life at full size, and I couldn’t be prouder of them."
Pricing information will be announced later in the year to coincide with an official public debut. As testing is ongoing, The Little Car Company will also reveal final performance stats at that time. 100 Launch Edition versions are planned for production in 2024, though the company says other versions of the Wild One Max will be offered later.
