The Taiyo Lamborghini Countach is a radio controlled car that was released into the European market, and other English/French speaking markets worldwide in 1987.
Please note that many photos on this page show the early version with slick tires; these are extremely rare. I've only ever seen 2 of these cars. Most Taiyo Twin Turbo Lamborghinis you see will have the equally good street tires, shown further below.
The Fastest Taiyo / Tyco
Packing Twin Mabuchi RE-280SA motors, with a 9.7V 'Turbo' battery pack (or 8xAA), the Lambo is the fastest Taiyo or Tyco model ever produced, at 31kmh (19mph).
It remains massively popular to this day, being snapped up on eBay for increasingly high prices, possibly only beaten in popularity by the Tyco Bandit.
Near Hobby-grade Chassis
Adding to the speed factor is the excellent chassis design, without a doubt the best Taiyo ever made, with rear shocks, and front double wishbone with shock brace. Unfortunately with the amount of stress that shock places on the hardware, it's also the most common break point of the model, and something to look out for when buying online.
The Italian Stallion
And of course, we cannot write about this model without mentioning the iconic Lamborghini Countach body, looking fantastic in either Red (27Mhz) or Black (49Mhz).
Slick Tyres and Rubber Rot
While we love the look of the slicks, we're glad Taiyo chose to go ahead with the regular all-weather tires for 95% of Lamborghinis they produced, since 30 years later almost all of the Taiyo models we've seen with slicks (mostly IndyCar, Super Fight F1) have faced major rubber rot issues.
Clearly something was wrong in the formula, whether UV stabilization or otherwise. Even in the photos we have of this car, you can see the tell-tale sign of rubber degradation in almost all photos, first the white powder leeching out of the tire on some, and then the dull patchy look on others which are more far gone.
This issue does not affect any of the regular 'street' tire Lamborghinis which is the 99.999% majority, so is not an issue you need to be concerned about unless you're lucky enough to spot a genuine slicks LP500S.
Recommendation
If I were to select just one model from Taiyo or Tyco from the 80s, the Taiyo Lamborghini Countach LP500S would be an easy choice. There are few which even begin to compete with its style and engineering, and we really have to get into personal all-time-favorites before I begin to consider what could be better.... (by the way it's the Taiyo 4WD Racing Pickup)
So if you're a collector of Taiyo or Tyco RC cars, I assume you already have one of these. And if not... what are you waiting for!
