World's fastest RC car

[Harry P.]

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/12/02/worlds-fastest-toy-car-hits-100-mph/?test=faces

[Dr. Cranky]

Looks beautiful, but I guess you'll only be able to look at it while it is standing still. At 100 miles an hour it could be a deadly weapon!

[highway]

I noticed it also had an iPhone app. Just what we need, teach the kids to text and drive before they even get behind the wheels of the real things!

[Erik Smith]

So would the scale speed of a 1/7 car going 100mph be, like, 700mph? I had enough trouble controlling rC cars going 10mph.

[SuperStockAndy]

Found my new Christmas present!

[Dr. Cranky]

LOL!

[Casey]

I noticed it also had an iPhone app. Just what we need, teach the kids to text and drive before they even get behind the wheels of the real things!

It's not about texting and driving:

"The pistol-grip remote control can be linked to an iPhone equipped with the Traxxas Link app, which offers real-time telemetry including speed, rpm, temperature and battery voltage. It’s required to unlock the XO-1’s top speed."

It's marketing, and it's a great idea. Odds are good most people who will buy such an R/C car already have an iPhone, too, so why not essentially make them download your company's app?

[Maindrian Pace]

Wouldn't it get out of range pretty fast?

-MJS

[Joe Handley]

It should have a pretty strong radio for that kind of performance and will likely be pretty comparable to airplane radios. As a hobby shop employee, this thing kinda scares me, not so much for the tech (although being forced to use an iDevice is annoying) or the performance as is the thought of how responsible some of the prospective customers might be with it. Only place I would feel comfortable running it would be at Chicagoland Speedway, Route 66, Byron Dragstrip, or with the way things are going there, The Main Street Commons (yes, that is the strip mall my shop just moved out of and yes it's getting that dead there too) with the way it'll run.

[Peter Lombardo]

I don't understand the concern here....isn't it our nature (humans, that is) to make....bigger, smaller, faster, slower, more expensive, less expensive, taller, shorter.....you get what I mean here, it is our nature to always push the envelope. We are always looking to reach just beyond our reach.........I know I do, and thankfully our various industries and engineers do too. Keep watching, if this sells, even moderately well, other companies will follow with faster RC cars....there will be apps for droids and blackberry's. Besides, the industry cross-over from this could produce many medical and industrial advances. The robotic industry and prostheses applications could be huge. I say go for it...push the envelope....reach for the stars, we all benefit from it.

This how we evolve and grow as a technical society. NASA in the 1960's wasn't just about taking man to the moon......many of the technological advances we take for granted today grew from that endevour, As a side note, it is just bureaucratic ignorance that has killed our space program and the technological advances it can bring us.

[Joe Handley]

Well Peter,my only concern is, after having people come in with destroyed trucks from racing with friends while working on a keg or somebody automaticly buying one for a child because "They're a smart kid" or have considered a Radio Shack r/c sufficent experiance so thet think they can automaticly operate a hobby grade car that runs 50mph or more. We've already talked at work about unlocking the car's full potential for iDeviceless customers and have so far decided against doing so for liability reasons.....plus we all own Android phones anyway.

[Wayne Buck]

WOW! 100mph is really cookin' and, although it's very cool, I have a few concerns about this thing myself...

Kinda like Joe was saying... I wouldn't feel very comfortable with my neighbor's kids running this thing up and down the street on Christmas morning when they haven't even owned anything better than a Tamiya Blackfoot. I'd feel MUCH more comfortable with them getting a "Red Ryder BB gun"!

Can you imagine this car steaming right into your ankle at full blast?!!

Edited December 3, 2011 by Wayne Buck

[Darin Bastedo]

It's really not that hard to build an RC car that is that fast. 15 years ago when I was heavy into the scene, I had an HPI Pro II Touring car that did an easy 75mph. That was with only a 14 turn double motor, and a two speed transmission. a higher RPM motor would have made it faster but at 1/10 scale it was limited by the tires and suspension being able to handle higher speeds. a larger R/C car would definately be capable of 100+

[Johnag4004]

Wonder how long the battery will last...

[Joe Handley]

Don't know, the Venom 5000mAh 2s LiPo in my Stampede VXL will go for about 30 minutes and the Thunderpower 4400mAh 3s pack runs nearly as long, but available power in that battery makes the truck insanely fast and undriveable........well the Thunderpower batteries I own have that effect on what ever they get run in.........

[Peter Lombardo]

As for the concerns, I think this is where "responsible" parenting comes into the picture. I certainly would not buy my son, and now my grandson, anything that was either dangerous to him or the people around him. Seriously, progress marches on and advances will be made, just deal with it. It is not like I am advocating for a child to get an automatic weapon for Christmas.....last time I looked, although it is currently under assault, we have the personal freedom to choose to get these items if we want. The issue should be that we, for ourselves and our children, make wise informed well thought out decisions.

[Joe Handley]

Things like this post from the Ferrari wreck thread does an exellent job of summing up my thoughts.

Just because you can afford one, doen't mean you can drive one! On top of that, with the money these guys have, they all probably have monumental egos and competative drives. That is a recipe for disaster if I ever heard one.

[Hawk312]

Here is is in action:

At that speed, I would think normal plastic wheels would just shatter from the centrifugal force.

[Joe Handley]

I'm more curious on how long the tires will last, I've personally blown apart and burned down tires on my stuff and have seen and heard many more stories like it over the years.