The Taiyo Knight Rider is a 1/32 scale radio controlled car manufactured by Taiyo, and released onto the Japanese market (possibly other markets also) in 2002.
Design and Features
The Knight Rider, or K.I.T.T, is currently the most highly sought after Radican (RC cars in a can-size format), based on the very high price ($150+ USD) compared to the average unopened Radican (~$20-50USD).
The car's main feature is the light effect on the front bonnet, with red LEDs moving back and forth, just like in the TV Series.
Performance
RadiCan cars are incredibly popular with collectors, perhaps even more than traditional Taiyo / Tyco RC cars, simply because their small size and large selection makes them easier to collect.
Their performance however as radio control cars is average, but still plenty of fun. With just 2xAA batteries (3V) their top speed is around 6km/h, though they are full function (forward, back, left, right) and nicely detailed.
Availability and Collectability
It's the format that makes them so collectable, with around 50 Radican models available, all becoming increasingly rare and difficult to find, it's a race between collectors around the world to complete their collection before it's too late.
Personally I have about a dozen Radican and Tyco Canned Heat models myself, with the Knight Rider and Back to the Future amongst my best and most valuable.
Thankfully they are still generally available if you look hard enough in the right places, and the value has so far remained fairly steady, without any ridiculous hikes as we've seen with other Taiyo / Tyco.
