One of the things I do each year to find new and interesting things to write about is cover the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. At the 2021 show, an exhibit for radio-controlled scale model vehicles caught my attention.
RC scale model vehicles have been around for a long time, but Redcat was featuring a new one that was very different from the ones that I’d seen before. This was a lowrider and, in addition to driving around the exbibit, it was hopping!
I am fascinated by lowriders. I’ve taken many pictures of them at car shows around San Diego. I have sometimes seen those hop, but I had never seen an RC car hop until I discovered the Redcat exhibit.
Intrigued, I asked them to tell me about it. At the SEMA Show, Redcat was featuring their 1:10th scale, officially licensed, 1964 Chevy Impala SS that hops, lowrider style. It has servos that enable the SixtyFour to quickly raise, lower and tilt its front and rear ends, with individual controls for the two front wheels. That makes it possible for the car to hop, and also to drive on three wheels.
In case you’re wondering why you have not seen a lowrider RC car before, it took 3-1/2 years to develop this one. Redcat wanted to get all the details just right.
The Lexan body is comprised of five pieces, and there are 27 individual chrome components on it. Redcat sells a clear body kit, which is similar to a model car.
The lowrider community has been very welcoming to the SixtyFour. Redcat chose to design and manufacture lowriders due, in part, to the amount of work — including artwork, that enthusiasts put into building lowriders. A quick search online will reveal that other companies are already making their own custom decal sheets and all sorts of custom parts for the SixtyFour.
I wanted to see for myself what this was all about so I asked Redcat if they would send me a SixtyFour to review after the show. They did.
The SixtyFour, as it is called, is a substantial RC vehicle. Its scale is a hefty 1:10, and with the battery installed it is fairly heavy. Its weight is biased to the rear to help it hop.
Inside the box is everything you will need to get started, including the car, a rechargeable battery and charger; a full-featured, 6-channel, 2.4 GHz remote control; and some pretty elaborate decal sheets to help you customize your SixtyFour.
As eager as I was to put my SixtyFour through its paces, first I was determined to apply the sets of decals. Besides, I had to charge the battery before I could use it.
The decals transform the SixtyFour from a perfectly nice, stock-looking 1964 Chevrolet Impala, into a lowrider that strongly resembles one that you might see at a car show, with graphics on the sides, top and even the interior.
You’ll want to take care installing the decals. Some of them are quite long and the adhesive is pretty sticky. Using a craft knife will help you to easily separate the decals from their paper backing. Also, go online to have a look at the Redcat manual for their body kit. That manual includes instructions for decal placement. The SixtyFour’s exterior (body) decals are well-labelled, and the box sleeve shows where they go, but the online instructions will help you properly position the interior decals. Here is a link to where you will find that manual: https://dealer.redcatracing.com/manuals/SixtyFourBodyKitManual.pdf
The only parts to install are the decorative twin radio antennas on the rear deck lid. Be careful with those whenever you turn the car over to detach the chassis, for installation and removal of the battery. The instructions say to glue the antennas in place, but I simply inserted the posts through the holes and then squished them with a hot soldering iron.
The price for this unique RC car, complete with an excellent radio system, battery and everything you’ll need, is $599.99. At the 2021 SEMA Show Redcat also announced their ’79 Chevrolet Monte Carlo RC car, which is now available for order on their website. It is less expensive than the SixtyFour, but it does not hop.
For more information about this and all the other Redcat RC cars, trucks, rock crawlers and more, plus parts to customize RC vehicles, go to: https://www.redcatracing.com.
To see the most photos and the latest text, and to explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, visit AutoMatters & More at AutoMatters.net. On the Home Page, search by title or topic, or click on the blue ‘years’ boxes.
Copyright © 2022 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #734r1
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