What Is The Fastest RC Motor?

As with anything that people take on as a hobby or in any aspect of life, we are always pushing the boundaries. We want to go further, faster, higher, deeper in everything we set out to achieve. The world of RC cars is o different. Manufacturers are constantly pushing the boundaries and increasing the limits of RC cars, and we who drive them love it! So what is the fastest motor in the world of RC?

The Traxxas X0-1 is the fastest electric RTR RC car. It can achieve 0 to 60-mph in only 2.3-seconds and reach 100-mph in 4.92-seconds. It is powered by a big block brushless electric motor that gives superior acceleration and high-speed drive to help this car break all the records.

Close up of an RC motor

As in real scale cars, the power and speed of the car are in the motor, but it is not the motor alone that allows the car to break speed limits and deliver superior performance. What goes into creating a superfast RC car, and are you ready to handle a beast of this magnitude?

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What Is The Fastest RC Car?

Traxxas is almost a household name in the world of RC vehicles. They produce both electric and nitro-powered radio-controlled cars, trucks, on and off-road vehicles, boats, and even drones.

It is no wonder that the title of the fastest electric RC car should go to this giant in the RC world. Traxxas is the same as any other manufacturer in any sector. You get people who love their products and people who hate their products but building the fastest RC car certainly makes a statement!

Traxxas is a US-based company operating out of McKinney, in Texas, since 1987. They first started out building monster trucks and stadium trucks. Traxxas even built full-sized monster trucks and were pioneers of self-righting systems for monster trucks, allowing the vehicle to right itself after being flipped. 

As a producer of RC vehicles, Traxxas pioneered many firsts in the industry, bringing the first RTR or Ready-To-Run RC car to the market, introducing the first waterproof electronics, first remote-controlled diff locking, to name a few.

Related post: How Fast Do Traxxas RC Trucks Go? (With 15+ Examples)

It was no surprise to many that Traxxas would be the manufacturer to develop the fastest RC car. The Traxxas X0-1 is billed as the fastest RTR electric car ever made!

This RC supercar can reach 60-mph in 2.3-seconds, which is a feat that is challenging for full-size supercars with supercharged motors! On a long straight, the X0-1 can reach 100-mph in 4.92-seconds, a previously unheard-of achievement in the world of RC cars.

The Traxxas X0-1 is a 1/7th scale RC car, measuring 27-inches in length (686mm) and 11.81-inches in width (300mm), and weighs in at 10.3-pounds, or 4.67kg.

The Traxxas X0-1 is available as a kit car, which you can build yourself, or as an RTR model that will blow your hair back with blistering speed right out of the box!

Last update on 2024-03-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

What Makes An RC Car Fast?

As is true for real-life cars, the powerhouse of any vehicle is the engine, but the engine alone is not what makes the car go fast! A powerful engine is no good if the rest of the car is not built to withstand the power and keep the car on the road, running straight and true!

Related post: 7 Ways To Make Your RC Car Faster For Free

The Fast Brushless RC Motor

The Traxxas X0-1 is powered by a brushless Traxxas Big Block motor, built by Castle Creations and running at 1650kV. It is an ultra-efficient motor that produces less heat when running, which is good for the sensors built into the motor and the electronics in the car.

Brushless motors are more power-efficient than brushed motors, even though they are more complex and less reliable than brushed motors. For building a fast electric-powered RC car, there is no choice other than a brushless motor!

RC cars that use brushed motors are generally considered toys rather than serious hobby-quality RC vehicles.

Related post: How Fast Do Nitro RC Cars Go? (+ 5 Top Factors To Consider)

RC Car Aerodynamics

To build a really fast RC car, the same principles must be applied as those for a real-sized supercar. Aerodynamics plays an important part in grounding the car and keeping the tires on the road.

The aerodynamics of the vehicle produces a downward force that pushes the car down toward the road surface at high speed. This improves the road-holding ability of the vehicle both on straights and fast corners.

The Traxxas X0-1 uses the same aerodynamic designs to produce the same downward force on the RC vehicle to give the car exceptional road-hugging ability.

RC Car Chassis And Suspension For Speed

The chassis of the RC car must be lightweight to be conducive to high speed but provide the necessary strength to withstand the power and torque of the motor. Traxxas has built the chassis of this car to continue its reputation of building tough, durable RC cars.

The suspension is a crucial component for speed. No surface is completely smooth, making it necessary to have a tough, good suspension to handle the uneven surface and keep your tires in contact with the ground for maximum road holding and traction.

Related post: Fastest Brushless RC Truck? The Three You Must Check Out

The suspension in the Traxxas X0-1 is aluminum rather than plastic, and the GTR shocks perform well, keeping the car on the road at high speed.

RC Cars Tires For Speed

The tires on the X0-1 are slick belted, hard tires. This reduced the ballooning or distortion effect of soft tires at high torque and speed. These are exactly the tires you need on an RC car for high-speed runs on a flat track!

The tires that come standard with Traxxas X0-1 are designed with speed in mind and perform well to keep the car tracking straight all the way up to the 100-mph top speed!

High-Speed Control Systems For RC Cars

Even on real-sized supercars, there are computerized systems to help the driver keep the immense power and speed of the car under control.

Traxxas has implemented their RC version of this in the Traxxas Stability Management system or TMS, which uses sensors in the car to help you control the car at high speed.

The system allows you to accelerate faster, brake harder, take corners faster, all while staying in control of the vehicle. Without this software to assist with the power of this RC car, you would probably spin out at every turn or hard acceleration.

Fast RC Cars Are Not For Beginners

It is very tempting to go big and buy the fastest and the best RC car you can find on the market, but if you are a beginner RC driver, this strategy will not be doing you any favours!

The Traxxas X0-1 is a car that is for seasoned RC drivers only. The blinding speed and highly responsive controls will have beginners spinning out and losing control of the car continuously.

This difficulty to gain control can be a frustrating experience for a newcomer to the RC world and could result in giving up trying to master driving RC cars.

It would be better to start with a car that operates at a more modest speed of between 30 to 50-mph before trying to tame this beast!

Conclusion

The Traxxas X0-1 is certainly the fastest electric RTR car available, but it is a car that is intended for a certain level of driver and driving conditions. 

To get the car up to its full speed, you need a vast flat, smooth driving surface. The car is difficult to control, even for experienced RC car drivers. Newcomers to the hobby should start with something substantially slower and easier to control. An RC car that can travel at up to 50-mph can still be a handful for a person who is new at the controls.

Kit cars are a great option since you can increase the motor size as your skills improve. The better the motor you install, the faster your RC car will go!

Paul Good

This awesome hobby has something for everyone, whether you like to build your RC from scratch and keep modifying till you've got it to just how you want it, to track racing. You might be out with a boat, or perfecting your skills with a plane. Are you taking some cool pics with your drone? I'm sure my site will help you on your journey.

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