THE REALLY WILD SHOW

Who hasn't imagined getting behind the wheel of their favourite r/c car? The Wild One Max is that dream come true

Well, this is unexpected. The radio controlled Tamiya Wild One is proving trickier to master than the full-size TWOM. Having spent most of the day at improbable angles in the Max, I’m now encrusted in mud and nursing what you might call ‘oversteer thumb’ (I forgot to wear gloves and the Alcantara on the wheel has removed a layer of skin). My arms ache, my temples are throbbing, and I’ve spent so long sideways my inner gyro feels skewed. Maybe that’s why I’ve managed to propel the r/c car into and over my own feet. Twice.

Blame Mitch and Matt. They’ve been filming this adventure, and wanted some footage of the little Tamiya in action to go with the full-size stuff. This is one of the company’s hero toys, a 1/10th scale plastic buggy that first appeared in 1985, with a fella called Ray Lynch at the wheel. Ray was piloting a device that managed to look simultaneously simplistic, hedonistic and futuristic. Highly sought after now, a box fresh and unmolested example of an ’85 original Wild One will cost you about a grand on eBay. 

This is still £34k less than the cost (before VAT) of the Max, which might seem excessive for what is essentially a big toy. It doesn’t even come with wipers or a windscreen as standard. It hardly matters, because all the right stuff is here in all the right places, to spectacular effect. Against some exotically engineered competition, a 38bhp, 48V electric buggy that weighs 500kg might just be the most unashamedly fun car of 2023.