FIRST DRIVE: Tamiya Wild One Max – 38bhp + 500kg = FUN

Dec 12 2023

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Who hasn’t imagined getting behind the wheel of their favourite r/c car? The Wild One Max is that dream come true. It’s a road legal, 38bhp, 48V electric buggy that weighs 500kg might just be the most unashamedly fun car of 2023. And it has provenance. TWOM is the work of The Little Car Company, an ingenious startup that’s spent the past three years creating meticulously engineered 75 per cent scale versions of significant historic cars, such as the Aston Martin DB5, Bugatti T35 and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. Now the LCC has reversed its shrink ray, secured the approval of a presumably bemused but delighted Tamiya, and scaled up the Wild One. In the flesh, the Max is simple but irresistible. It uses a welded steel spaceframe chassis, with its cockpit now sufficiently widened so there’s room for two full-size adults. It’ll do almost 60mph all-out, while range is about 125 miles on the road, nudging 65 off-road depending on the degree of tomfoolery. But the cost of all that tomfoolery doesn’t come cheap. Order one of the 100 launch editions and you’ll be forking out £35k before VAT. But who cares when you get to live out your childhood fantasy? WATCH MORE TOP GEAR: