The Taiyo Mini Tiger Champ is a radio controlled car, released into the Japanese market in 1996. This is the only ‘Tiger Champ’ we’ve seen.
Features and Design
A clear reference to Taiyo / Tyco’s earlier Nissan Racing Pickup 4WD with its red, white, and blue color scheme, the Tiger Champ is a simple full function truck that raises many questions about its origins.
- Why Mini Tiger Champ?
- Is there a full size Tiger Champ?
- Why is Taiyo Japan using ‘Maximum Heat!’, a Tyco slogan?
- Why does it use Nissan Racing Pickup colors, but isn’t a Nissan?
So many questions!
Performance
As a simple 4xAA car, the Mini Tiger won’t be blasting around any offroad tracks, but will do just fine indoors for younger drivers, and the young at heart.
Given we’ve only seen 1 of these ever in the wild, it seems unlikely you would ever get your hands on one, however as it appears to be Taiyo China’s attempt at making a cut-price 4WD Racing Pickup…. I guess it has unique value?
If you own or have even seen one of these before I’d love to know!