How Fast Are RC Cars? Fastest RC Car Hits 202 MPH! (+Videos)

Many people think that it is difficult to build a fast RC racing car, but there are many models on the market which can give you great speed and performance. These cars aren’t as popular as others as these are not as easily controllable as other RC cars, and they are at the top range of prices.

when asking how fast are RC cars, you need to take into consideration many variables such as weight, is it electric\nitro, type of car etc. generally speaking, most RC cars can go at a speed of 15-70 mph.

How Fast Are Electric RC Cars?

electric RC cars vary from 15 to 40mph which is a great speed for an RC car.

which is faster, brushed or brushless?

How Fast Are Nitro RC Cars?

Nitro RC cars’ speed vary from 30 to 70mph which is a great speed for an RC car.

It’s important to keep in mind that nitro RC cars can be more expensive than electric ones, especially when it comes to parts and maintenance.

The fastest nitro RC car in the world belongs to Marc Davidson, who set a world record in 2010 of 120.25mph in his blue nitro Camaro.

Marc Davidson at ISC USR -2010. Sets a world record of 120mph

Electric vs. Nitro – Which Is Fastest?

Electric cars are rapidly leaving nitro vehicles in the dust, and it’s becoming more obvious by the day. 

Nitro cars used to sit high on top down to raw speed, but now that electric RC cars have taken this crown as well, nitro cars appear to be running out of time.

The Fastest RC Car Ever

The fastest RC car in the world is the Bullet, an RC car that was built by Nic Case and it can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in just 2 seconds. His car achieved the speed of 202mph which makes it the fastest RC car in the world.

But, this is not a production car, Nic engineered and self-produced all of the parts for his car and in 2014 he broke the record for the fastest RC car in the world, and was recognized by Guinness Book of World Records.

The First Radio Controlled Car to Achieve 200mph – Nic Case’s Bullet

The Fastest Production RC Car In The World

The Traxxas XO-1 is the fastest production RC car in the world. it has a top speed of over 100mph and can do 0-60 in just 2.3 seconds which is an amazing result for an electric RC car.

Which Is Faster – Kit RC Car or RTR?

The Traxxas XO-1 is an RTR car which means you can buy it and run it as soon as you get home, no assembly is needed. that being said, for a good engineer, kit cars are a platform that allows you to build and modify the car and make it go even faster than an already fast ready-to-run car.

How Fast Does A Cheap RC Car Go?

when it comes to price-per-speed ratio, a cheap RC car can vary from 10-40mph at a price between $100 and $250.

Scale Speed vs. Real Speed

what is scale speed in RC cars?

when talking about scale speed it’s like talking about scale size – if you want to talk about an RC car model in a 1/10 scale, it is ten times smaller than the original one. 

This means that if the RC car model at a scale of 1/10 has a scale speed of 200mph then its real speed will be 20mph.

what is real speed in RC cars?

Real speed is its actual speed in mph.

There is a difference in the speed of toy-grade cars and hobby-grade cars.

For example, electric RCs can achieve a scale speed of up to 200mph, but their real speed is around 20-30 mph which still isn’t that slow if you ask me – it’s more than enough to have some fun.

How Much HP Do RC Cars Have?

RC cars can come in different power configurations such as 3.5, 4.2, and 8.4 volts – however, this does not indicate how much HP it is going to have. 

To know the real speed of an RC car we need to divide the voltage by the Kv constant and then multiply it by 1000 and that will give you a number that tells you how many RPM per minute your RC car can achieve.

For example, if an RC car runs on 4.2 volts and has the Kv constant of 20 then its real speed is 583RPM/minute or 35mph.

RC Cars Power-to-Weight Ratio

the power-to-weight ratio is an important factor in determining the speed of any vehicle. When it comes to RC cars, their power-to-weight ratio can vary from 2.5 to 4 which means that for every pound its weight will be 2.5-4HP which is not that bad when you are looking for a fast RC car.

What Determines The Speed Of An RC Car?

what determines the speed of an RC car is the motor, the transmission, the weight and is it electric, nitro, or gas-powered RC car.

Electric RC Car

There are many models on the market which boast excellent speed and performance. Most of these are 1/10 scale models, but there are also some smaller vehicles that can give you a great speed. Their batteries are rechargeable, so you don’t have to constantly buy new batteries. However, the electric models usually require much more time until they can accelerate than nitro ones do.

Nitro RC Car

Nitro RC cars give you great speed and performance. Their drawback is that you have to buy new fuel every time, but it’s well worth it when looking at the results they can bring. 

The nitro-powered models come from 0 to 60mph in 2 to 4 seconds and there are even faster ones out there. 

Conclusion

to conclude this article, there are many factors that go into determining how fast an RC car is. These include its power-to-weight ratio, voltage, motor type (electric or nitro), whether it is kit or RTR and finally the production line of the car. The speed range for RC cars is from 10-100mph and it shows that there is a car for any budget and/or skill level.