The Metro Aero Jet Hopper was a 1:16 scale 9.6V radio controlled car sold in Australia by GTI/Playcorp (trading as Metro R/C) in 1987.
This Aero version was the successor to the massively popular Metro Jet Hopper which sold so well in Australia, that it spurred Tyco to begin selling the original Turbo Hopper in the USA.
What is this an ‘Aero’ version of?
This is the ‘Aero’ version of the Taiyo Jet Hopper (MK3), or as it was sold in Australia, the Metro Jet Hopper (MK3).
Features
The Metro Aero Jet Hopper is an *upgraded release of the original Taiyo Aero Jet Hopper released in the same year.
- 9.6V ‘Turbo’ 8xAA Battery Power
- Wide Air-Filled Off-Road Tires
- Mabuchi 280 motor
- 4 x Shock Absorbers
- 2-Speed Gearbox
- Pistol Grip Controller (*upgrade)
It also comes with a more interesting and dynamic looking paint job in our opinion.
Jet Hopper in Australia = Turbo Hopper in America
As an Australian kid in the 80s, I can tell you the Jet Hopper was a household name. It was popularized through some exciting commercials, and a deal with the local kids show Agro’s Cartoon Connection, where Metro products were prizes and kids even raced the cars live on TV. The original Jet Hopper was so successful that it made Tyco of America pay attention, and immediately order a batch of their own.
Named the Tyco Turbo Hopper, using the same packaging as in Australia (with the Metro logo replaced with Tyco), they took a gamble and it paid off well. The Turbo Hopper became just as popular in the US and UK markets as it had been in Australia, and so began this three-way relationship between Taiyo, Tyco, and Metro that would last well into the 1990s.
Why ‘Aero’?
With Computer Aided Design (CAD) now being used routinely to design regular motor vehicles, the shape of those cars was often described as being more ‘aerodynamic’, and so the word trended and became a popular marketing tool.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Taiyo, Tyco, and Metro released many ‘Aero’ versions of their most popular RC cars to capitalize on this trend.
Recommendation
The ‘Aero’ Jet Hopper is just a Jet Hopper MK3 with a different hard body and so if you’ve driven that, you’ve driven this.
That said, it is a very attractive, more modern looking shell with a better paint job than the original Taiyo, so if by some miracle you find one on eBay or elsewhere, and it’s affordable, we’d say go for it!
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