The Tyco Outlaw with Power Boost Engine is a radio controlled car, manufactured by Taiyo (Japan) and released in the US, UK, and other countries worldwide in 1992 by Tyco RC (USA).
"I saw the commercial, and I just had to have it!"
As part of their proven formula, Tyco launched their new product with a strong marketing campaign that directly targetted the kids watching Saturday morning and before-school TV, opening with vision of two manly-men lowering a huge V8 engine onto the back of a pickup truck.
Of course, this made complete sense to an 8 year old like me, who naturally thought moar engine = moar powa! Heck, when I re-watched the commercial just now, it did'nt occur to me how silly this was until I really thought about it!
The 'Power Boost Engine'
Out of the box, the car could run on the 4xAA batteries that its standard 1992 Tyco chassis could fit, however it also allowed an additional 2xAA batteries to supplement this, in the form of the 'Power Boost Engine'.
This large chromed model of a V8 was basically just an oversized battery pack which allowed an additional 2 x AA batteries into the car, for a total of 6xAA batteries.
One of many 'Gimmick Cars of the 1990s
Not be confused with the similarly named Tyco Turbo Outlaw , a Sprint Car, the Tyco Outlaw with Power Boost Engine was one of the better known 'Gimmick Cars' of the 1990s, so-called because of some cool feature or unusual design which took a relatively boring 4xAA RC car, and turned it into sales winner.
Other 'gimmick cars' from the era include:
- Tyco Python with a water-spitting python swinging up from the roof
- Tyco Fire Power with a missile launcher on the rear tray
- Tyco Mutator 4WD which morph from low-stance racer to high-stance monster truck
- Tyco Hi-Jacker which was a Lamborghini that would spring up to an off-road racer
- Tyco Dagger with adjustable center-of-gravity allowing for cool stunts
Being Lowered on to Pickup Truck
Performance
So, did the Power Boost Engine turn this into a speed demon? Sadly I've never had the chance to drive one! Have you? Let us know in the comments below!
Purely based on technical data, the jump from 4xAA to 6xAA isn't the same as going straight to a proper 9.6V Turbo Tyco car, however the 6xAA offered a healthy 7.2V which was plenty enough power for many of the hobby-grade Tamiya cars of the day, so I'm sure the extra power would have been noticable after plugging it in.
Recommendation
The fact a reader contacted me to point out that we (were) missing the Outlaw says it all - there's some love out there for this car.
Whether you had one as a child, or saw the ad and always wanted one, it's one of those models you'll just know immediately whether you want it or not. As for me? Absolutely.
But can you get it? Sadly, that may be the problem. Over the last 6 months we've only tracked 2 Outlaws for sale on eBay. That's rare! So if you see one, and it's your kind of thing, my recommendation is to go for it, before they're all gone.
