The Tyco Indy Turbo is a 1/18 scale radio control car manufactured by Taiyo (Japan), and released into the US, UK, and other markets worldwide in 1988.
Concept
The Indy Turbo range was one of the first sold by Tyco beginning with their 1986 catalog, and it included various different cars over the years, including:
- Indy Turbo Domino's Pizza (Raul Boesel)
- Indy Turbo Kraco (Michael Andretti)
- Indy Turbo Miller (Danny Sullivan)
- Indy Turbo Pennzoil (Rick Mears)
Performance
The Indy Turbo range was based on the Taiyo Grand Prix chassis, which is a 9.6V 'Turbo' 8xAA battery powered car, released around the same time as the original Jet Hopper / Turbo Hopper.
The chassis itself is very simple with no suspension in the back, and very limited suspension in the front, revealing its lineage back to the early 80s when Taiyo primarily manufactured on road cars with solid chassis and limited performance.
That would change in 1986 with the first 9.6V car from Taiyo, the Jet Hopper / Turbo Hopper, and subsequently Taiyo's onroad cars such as the Indy Turbo would also adopt that technology.
Features included:
- 9.6V Turbo Battery Pack
- Front Suspension
- Two Speed Gearbox
- Slick Rubber Racing Tires
- Modelled after the real Pennzoil Indy Car
Those looking for a larger, or more powerful car of similar design should check out the Taiyo Super Fight F1 (Single Motor) or Taiyo Super Fight F1 Twin Turbo.
Recommendation
Overall, an interesting model that's well worth having in your collection, particularly if you're an IndyCar fan. We'd recommend checking out the 1989 Tyco Turbo Indy article which has photos of a brilliantly brand new model that demonstrates just how good these looked upon release.
Warning
A large proportion of slick tires on Taiyo and Tyco models have been found to suffer from Rubber Rot after 30+ years of UV exposure. This is where the bonds of the rubber which hold it together begin to degrade until these black tires become a kind of putty or dough.
The car in this photo gallery appears fine, however the car in the Global/European car photo gallery did show definite signs of rubber rot. See the photo below. Left on a flat surface, those tires will never return to shape, and may even fall apart in your hands.
