Video: World's Fastest RC Racer

Cabe Atwell

May 16, 2014

2 Min Read
Video: World's Fastest RC Racer

Racing and modifying remote control cars is a very common hobby. However, some people take it more seriously than others.

Nic Case is one of those people and has previously secured the world record for fastest speed of an RC car -- at 171 MPH. But that was just not good enough for Case, who just recently broke his own record, with his car topping out at 188 MPH.

Named the R/C Bullet, it is faster than many high-end sports cars. It weighs just 10 pounds and uses electric motors that spin the tires at close to 20,000 revolutions per minute at full speed.

With the car moving so fast there were many design challenges Case had to overcome. The first was designing a frame and body that is as aerodynamic as possible. If a little air were to flow under the car it is very possible that the car would lift up and possibly flip over at top speeds. Additionally, any extra lift would reduce the overall speed of the car. Therefore, the car had to be designed to produce as little lift as possible. Also, three-inch carbon-fiber BSR tires were used to provide maximum traction.

Another design challenge came from the inertia of the motors. The motors begin to spin so fast at top speeds that they experience a gyroscopic effect, which can reduce the overall speed of the car. This was overcome by adding small weights to the drive shaft.

See the R/C Bullet in action in the video below (don't blink).

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About the Author(s)

Cabe Atwell

Cabe is an electrical engineer, machinist, maker, cartoonist, and author with 25 years’ experience. When not designing/building, he creates a steady stream of projects and content in the media world at element14, Hackster.io, MAKE ─ among others. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits.

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