Posted: 10/18/22
How large is the largest RC car?
When most people think about RC cars, they usually think of something relatively small. The size of the RC car is based on their scale relationship to the car they emulate, and the most common size is 1/10 scale (or 1:10 scale). The larger the bottom number in that ratio, the smaller the RC car. So mini or micro RC cars are typically 1/24 scale, although the smallest ever made is 1/90 scale. But how large is the largest RC car?
In the world of hobby-grade RC, the largest RC car is 1/5 scale, although full sized cars have been made to drive under remote power (think about Back to the Future when Doc drives Einstein in the car by remote). So 1/1 scale is technically the largest RC car, but we’re more interested in the largest hobby-grade RC car here.
So how big is 1/5 scale? The largest Losi RC car, the Losi 5IVE-T 2.0 short course truck, is massive at over 3 feet long (it’s 38 inches to be exact). The wheelbase alone on the 1/5 scale Losi 5IVE-T 2.0 is 24 inches wide. Compare that to the 1/10 scaleLosi TENACITY TT Pro, which is only 21 inches long. You can imagine the size difference.
If you’re looking for the largest RC car, look for the largest scale (1/5 scale) and compare the vehicles from there for the longest, tallest, or widest RC car or truck.
In Large Scale RC, Size Matters
Because scale is relative to the original size, not all 1/5 scale RC cars are the same size. How large the RC car is depends on how big the original 1/1 scale vehicle is. The 1/5 scale Losi DBXL-E 2.0 is modeled after a buggy, so although it is still 1/5 scale, it is smaller than the Losi 5IVE-T at only 33 inches long. And the 1/5 scale ARRMA KRATON is only 30 inches long. So in large scale vehicles, the size of the original vehicles matters. The largest RC cars are modeled after the largest 1/1 vehicles.
Other Sizes of Large RC Cars
When we talk about large scale RC cars, 1/5 scale isn’t the only size. Generally, anything over 1/8 scale is considered large. You can still have a large RC car at 1/7 scale and 1/6 scale. They just won’t be as big as the 1/5 scale in most cases. One of our most popular large scale RC cars is the 1/6 scale Axial SCX6 Jeep JLU Wrangler. It isn’t the largest RC car, but it’s still massive at 33 inches long, 14 inches tall, with a wheelbase of nearly 20 inches (bigger than the 1/5 scale ARRMA KRATON). When it takes to the trails, everyone watches.
More Power
In many of the largest RC cars and trucks, there is more power behind the motor or engine thanks to its size. This means that large-scale RC cars are faster; many of them can go over 50 MPH unless they are designed for rock crawling, like the Axial SCX6 Jeep. But even the largest RC rock crawlers often have more power than their 1/10 scale counterparts.
The Largest RC Cars
We’ve featured some of the largest RC cars you can buy and explained just how large the largest RC cars are. If you’re looking to take your RC experience to the next level, you can’t go wrong with a large-scale RC car or truck. They are certainly eye catching and that much more fun to drive.
You can check out our largest RC cars and trucks here.
