Skip to main content

Boys and their toys: Can an Audi S1 rally car get shown up by its own RC scale replica?

We’d normally encourage rally car driver Mattias Ekström to pick on someone his own size, but in this case, we think the little guy can handle it. In this video, Audi put together an unusual shootout between Ekström’s S1-based EKS RX rally car and … a 14-year-old child with an RC car.

We’re not talking about some kid with an off the shelf toy, however. The diminutive combatant in question is Micha Widmaier, two-time junior RC car champion who has an S1 rally car of his own, just scaled down to something a little more his style.

Screen Shot 2014-12-24 at 12.49.42 PM
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With a warehouse filled and surrounded by vintage trucks and buses, the Audi’s go head to head to see who can out shine each other with a friendly gymkhana. It almost doesn’t seem fair when one competitor can flatten the other entirely under a single tire.

Ekström’s rally racer packs a turbocharged 2.0-liter four pot, putting out 560 horsepower, sending it through to Audi’s patented quattro all-wheel-drive system via a six-speed sequential transmission. The power advantage over Widmaier’s car is considerable, but the EKS RX weighs in the area of 3,000 lbs whereas the RC car weighs like, five.

The RC car gives its big brother quite the run for its money, using its size to slip under and between places the rally can’t follow, forcing him to drive around obstacles. It’s all clearly a bit of fun, with no real competition, just two boys with their respective toys horsing around, much to our enjoyment. Our only complaint is that the minute-and-a half video is way too short for the amount of fun being had, and we’d love to see an extended cut.

Alexander Kalogianni
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…
The Apple Car was reportedly dubbed ‘the Bread Loaf’
A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal.

A 2020 prototype of the so-called "Apple Car" was dubbed "the Bread Loaf" for its looks, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

In a deep dive into the costly project, which Apple canceled last month, the report described the vehicle as “a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors, and whitewall tires [that] was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus.”

Read more
The Rivian R2 SUV is up for preorder for only $45,000
Rivian R2

You can now get a Rivian without spending more than $70,000. After months of rumors and leaks, Rivian has finally taken the wraps off of the Rivian R2, its newest SUV, and the first to be built on the new Rivian R2 platform. The R2 is built to be Rivian's "Model 3 moment," or its attempt to build a car that's more accessible to the general public and thus could be sold at a much higher volume than the R1S or R1T ever were.

The R2 certainly cuts some corners to achieve the lower price point, but it actually still has a lot going for it -- especially as an electric SUV in this price range. It goes up against the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mustang Mach-E, and Kia EV6, but it's much more of an SUV than a crossover-sized car and should appeal to those who want something larger and with Rivian's design sensibility.

Read more
The R3 is Rivian’s surprise electric crossover
Rivian R3

Rivian didn't just announce the R2 platform at its latest launch event -- in a surprise twist, it also announced the R3 crossover. The R3 is Rivian's smallest car yet, offering a size much closer to the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 than the SUVs that came before it.

Of course, not only is the Rivian R3 smaller, but presumably, it's also cheaper. Rivian didn't reveal actual pricing for the car, but it did say that it would be less than the R2's $45,000 price. Also, it may be some time before we start seeing the R3 on the road -- the car will follow the R2, which isn't set to be available until the first half of 2026.

Read more