It’s been over 20 years since I messed around with radio control cars, but Kyosho’s new Datsun 240Z rally car could suck me back in. The body is based on the S30 Z that won the 19th running of the East African Safari Rally in 1971. And just like that car, it looks great tearing through the dirt.
My old RC car was an HPI with a Silvia body and it was made to drive on flat surfaces. The problem is, there aren’t that many truly flat places to run it unless you go to a dedicated RC track. There are plenty of buggy and monster truck RC cars out there that can handle backyard terrain, but it doesn’t really appeal to me if there’s no real world analogue to the RC car. This 240Z merges the best of both worlds, one of the all-time great sports car designs and a chassis meant for off-road.
The car runs on a Kyosho Fazer Mk2 FZ02-R chassis. What that exactly means will require some re-education, but the “R” seems to indicate a rally-spec version of Kyosho’s FZ02 touring car chassis. That gets you a higher ride height, bigger shocks, modified steering geometry, and a cover to protect the innards from dirt.
It’s an AWD chassis, which is kind of a bummer since the real car was RWD, but that’s a common RC technicality that can be overlooked. The car also comes with RS-Watanabe wheels, which look good, but the real car used Kobe Seikos. Other that these minor quibbles, the 1/10 scale car looks very authentic, down to the Shell and Seiko sponsor decals.
There’s also a ton of modification parts available, including LED lights, springs with different rates, aluminum shocks, and more. The set retails for $269.99 and comes with everything you need to run it.
Before click on the video link, I kept scrolling for the picture of the R/C car itself, as I thought the existing pics in the article were of the real car. No, they were pics of the R/C car itself! The video makes the 240Z look very real, and the car’s dynamics make the car seem full scale / weight.
A few years back I was very close to pulling the trigger on buying one of those Tamiya Lunch Box mini, as I thought it’d be a nice project to build with the kids. I’ve “only” had the Toys R Us “Tyco” or “Nikko” branded R/C cars, and envied some neighbors who had the Tamiya Frog or the Team Associated RC10s back then.
$269.99? Cheaper than trying to recreate the REAL one.
Looks great – and takes me back (in time!)
Tamiya actually came out with this car in RC form a few years back. It’s unfortunately no longer available. https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/-road-buggies/rc-datsun-240z-rally-version/