The Grand Tour Top Gear

Man builds RC version of Clarkson’s Toybota – and its amazing!

A Canadian man has built a scaled down remote-controlled version of Jeremy Clarkson’s Toybota, and when compared to the original full-sized vehicle which appeared on Top Gear, turned out to be far more accurate than he expected.

Aaron Bidochka, who runs the YouTube channel RCSparks Studio, built the 1:10 scale model over a 10-day period and opted to base it on a Toyota LandCruiser LC70 – as this was seen as a mix between the two amphibious pickup trucks Clarkson created over the years. Impressively, it features cable driven steering for the tailgate mounted outboard motor, and side-mounted pontoons for extra buoyancy. Exactly as Clarkson envisaged.

In true Top Gear form, Bidochka set up his very own challenge for his creation – to cross the giant water hole behind his home. In order to succeed, it would have to drive into the water without assistance, engage the giant outboard motor and then navigate across to the other side of the ‘lake’ before driving back out again.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the challenge is that Bidochka encountered the very same problems on his scaled down version as Clarkson did on the original. “The weight of the giant outboard engine causes a lot of downforce when under throttle,” he wrote. “The Truck Bed is not very high, and can start to take on water.”

Bidochka also revealed that he struggled to find the ‘sweet spot’ with the throttle, and discovered that the front of the truck began to plow and submerge under the water if too much power was applied.

Sound familiar, Clarkson?

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3 comments

the guy with no name September 13, 2017 at 4:04 am

I’m in the RC hobby and this isn’t actually too difficult. It’s just a question of how accurate you want it to look.

Reply
Im also in the hobby September 19, 2017 at 6:07 am

Odd, becuase no one has done it yet! Lol 🙂

Reply
the guy with no name September 19, 2017 at 10:11 am

That’s because we tend to be a boring bunch. Pretty much every one of us is in some extreme of the hobby whether it be a speed freak, a racetrack elitist snob or a casual basher. Nobody ever thinks to do something more interesting. I mounted a homemade flamethrower on a side project of mine.

I could modify my truck to be amphibious, just stick some sand paddle tyres on the back get some pipe insulator like the guy in the video and you’re good to go.

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