NIKKO FERARRI TESTAROSSA

The other week we took the oppertunity to pop to a car boot. Amongst the rusty taps and inexplicable amount of old PS2 steering wheels, my lad spotted a RC car.

A little inspection showed that it was a 1/10 Nikko RC car. Being RC and also a Ferrari we had to ask about a price.. So £1.50 was spent for the set-up, which contained the Car, Controller and 3 sets of nicads. All we has to do was sneak it in past the missus when we got home :)

The batteries were charged and we tried to revive the beast.

The car is old, it was made in 1986 and I dont think it had been run at all in the last 20 odd years.. the car surged to life.. slowly.. The car however didnt want to move forward.. although after messing with the throttle trim it seemed to go forward straight from reverse.. sometimes.

We ran a nicad through the car, rapidly changing between forward and reverse and I think that managed to work off the residue on the brushes. The car had a 'reassuring?' smell of burning electrics.. hopefully where the power of the mighty 1400 nicads had surged through the car.

So with another pack charged we took it out onto the road.. and here came the first surprise.. it actually went quite fast! Its not quick at accelerating but after it covers about 20 meters or so it seemed to be going as fast as a stock 540 powered ta01 touring car.. (albeit with the smallest pinion and largest spur gear combo).

The car is fully proportional however the steering is really slow.. amazingly so :) But if you flick the car into reverse on a corner the car will perform a nice Handbrake style flick.. Very Miami Vice! The car is std 2wd with a rear differential.

The car comes with training bumpers which can be removed to show off the nicely detailed shell. The headlights can also pop up and down, but one is missing the lens, and one light has a bulb that has ceased working.

It was good to remember the times when even 'toy' RC cars were fully proportional. Nowadays most of the cheap supermarket RC cars are fully functional, but importantly they are not Fully proportional.. Having the proportional control is what makes the experience of RC racing fun. Its the finesse and refinement that gives you a depth on how to handle the car, and its the extra control that makes it fun when you push it to the edge as you learn how to keep the car on the edge.

Now the next question is.. how far can we tune it? :)