The Tyco Drift Kings Nissan Silvia was a radio controlled car manufactured by Mattel as part of the Tyco Drift Kings RC car series in 2004. Consisting of only two cars, the Nissan Silvia and Mazda RX-7 they were nevertheless highly popular and remain valuable today.
Cultural Phenomenon
The Fast and The Furious (2001) brought car culture into the popular conscious, boosting interest in Japanese imports such as the Nissan Skyline GT-R (which had been illegal to import due to emissions regulations only a few years prior), and young drivers in their first car taking their family sedan or hatch and shoving on an oversized rear wing, loads of stickers in the windows, "performance" exhausts (otherwise known as fart boxes), fake carbon fiber accessories everywhere they'd fit, and more. Sure to shave a few seconds off the quarter mile, a necessity in busy suburban traffic!
Toy companies such as Nikko and Mattel noticed the trend, and jumped on board, with Nikko securing an official licencing deal for the sequel (2 Fast 2 Furious) in 2004, and Mattel launching their own boy racer range - the Drift Kings.
Drift Kings would feature the highly modified Mazda RX-7 (an earlier model RX-7 was driven by Dom 'Family' Toretto in the original film), and a Nissan Silvia (which also starred frequently in the film), both icons of the street racing scene at the time.
Features and Performance
Unlike many "toy grade" cars today, the Drift Kings RX-7 not only looks like it means business, it actually packs some muscle under all the chrome, stickers, and sleak styling. With a full size 7.2V hobby grade (Tamiya style) battery, and always on 4WD, this little machine was built for fun!
Sadly though I don't have either the RX-7 or Silvia myself, so I can't report on first hand experience. If you've got a Drift Kings and would like to add any comments about the cars, feel free to contact me.
Specifications
- Officially licensed Mazda RX-7 body (potentially a 2002 Series 8 model)
- Authentic looking modifications inc. carbon fibre bonnet, larger rear wing, grill, body kit, etc.
- Large Scale (exact unknown)
- Massive 7.2V Hobby Grade (Tamiya Style) battery. Woah!
- 4WD
- Swappable Slick Drift or Street Racing Tires
- New Pistol Grip Controller
- Orange cones for setting up a small course
Closer Look
Here's some more shots of the car itself, and for the box see the gallery at the top of the article.
Availability and Collectability
While the White Mazda RX-7 seems to appear online a little more often (appearing 6 to 1 against the Bronze Nissan Silvia at the time of writing), based on past sales history it's still possible to nab a Silvia if you're patient.
That said, most sold online are loose cars that have signs of use, with very few sales being New-in-box or even used in box. Like most great toy RC cars, these have lived a hard life.
Whatever the case though, I'm a fan, and I'll be watching eBay like a hawk until I can get my hands on one to add to my collection. If you'd like to do the same, check out my eBay Deal Finder which I use most days for this purpose.
