When Was the First Remote Control Car Invented? The Full Story
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Ever wondered when the very first remote control car was invented? The answer goes back further than most people think — to 1966, with roots even older. Here’s the complete, fascinating history of how RC cars began.
So, when was the first remote control car invented? The short answer is 1966, in Italy. But the story of radio control stretches back to the 1890s, and the RC cars See modern RC cars on Amazon #ad we love today are the result of decades of clever invention.
We’ll keep this friendly and easy, like a fun history chat. You’ll learn who built the first RC car, what it was, how the hobby exploded, and how far things have come. Let’s travel back in time. 📜
📋 What’s Inside (Table of Contents)
⚡ The Quick Answer
The first remote control car was invented in 1966 by an Italian electronics company called Elettronica Giocattoli (often shortened to Ei-Gi), based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their creation was a 1:12 scale Ferrari 250 LM, and here’s a surprise: it was nitro (gas) powered, not electric.
That 1966 model is widely regarded as the first RC car made for hobby and recreational use, and it kicked off the entire RC hobby. But the technology behind it, radio control, is much older. It goes all the way back to Nikola Tesla in 1898. Let’s start there.
In short: radio control was born in 1898 with Tesla’s remote boat, but the first remote control car arrived in 1966, an Italian, nitro-powered Ferrari. From there, the hobby never looked back. 📜
📡 Before RC Cars: The Roots of Radio Control
RC cars couldn’t exist until radio control was invented, and that happened decades earlier. Way back in 1898, the famous inventor Nikola Tesla demonstrated a radio-controlled boat — steering a small vessel wirelessly in front of an amazed crowd. It was the first radio-controlled vehicle of any kind, and a glimpse of the future.
For the next several decades, radio control was used mostly for boats and aircraft, often for military purposes during the World Wars. The technology gradually shrank and improved. By the 1960s, radio gear had become small, reliable, and affordable enough to fit inside a model car. That breakthrough is what finally made the remote control car possible, setting the stage for 1966.
🏁 1966: The First RC Car
In 1966, the Italian company Elettronica Giocattoli made history with the world’s first remote control car: a 1:12 scale Ferrari 250 LM. The company, founded just two years earlier in 1964 in Reggio Emilia, combined detailed model bodies with the new, compact radio systems of the era.
This first RC car ran on a tiny nitro engine (a gas-powered model engine), not an electric motor. It was a genuine hobby product, sold to enthusiasts, and it’s widely credited as the spark that started the modern RC hobby. The car reached the UK via importers as early as December 1966, and the company showed a follow-up model, the Ferrari P4, at the Milan Toy Fair in early 1968. Those two Ferraris were the humble beginning of everything that followed. See nitro RC cars on Amazon #ad
🏭 The First Commercial RC Cars
Soon after Elettronica Giocattoli’s debut, the idea spread fast. A British company called Mardave, based in Leicester, England, began producing remote control cars commercially around 1967, and is often credited as one of the first companies to sell RC cars to the wider public.
At the same time, other makers such as Model Car Enterprises (MCE) and WEN started building RC car kits. These early machines were known as “pan cars” — flat-chassis cars, often 1/8 scale, powered by small two-stroke model airplane engines. The hobby was still niche and a bit rough around the edges, but the excitement was real, and dozens of small companies jumped in during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
📊 RC Car History Timeline
⛽ The 1970s: Nitro & the Hobby Grows
The 1970s were when RC cars really took shape as a hobby. The decade was dominated by 1/8 scale nitro-powered cars, with the technology improving quickly. Racing became a big deal, with clubs and organized events springing up, and in 1979 Geneva hosted the first 1/8 scale On-Road Gas World Championship.
During this time the cars got faster, more refined, and more competitive. Pioneers and small companies experimented with chassis designs, suspension, and engines borrowed from the model airplane world. It was an exciting, fast-moving era that laid the groundwork for the explosion of popularity that came next. The hobby was no longer just a curiosity — it was becoming a serious passion for thousands of enthusiasts.
🔋 1976: Tamiya & the Electric Revolution
A huge turning point came in 1976, when the Japanese company Tamiya released its first popular electric RC cars, starting with the Porsche 934 Turbo. This 1/12 scale car used an electric motor on a pan chassis, and although the early electric cars weren’t cheap, they sold rapidly.
Why did this matter so much? Electric power made RC cars cleaner, quieter, and far easier to run than fiddly nitro engines, which opened the hobby to everyday people and kids. Tamiya paired its cars with beautifully detailed, realistic bodies and easy-to-build kits, turning RC from a niche pursuit into a mainstream hobby. Many people consider Tamiya the brand that truly made RC cars popular worldwide. Our electric vs nitro guide explains the difference.
🏆 The 1980s Golden Age
If the 1970s grew the hobby, the 1980s made it explode. The decade kicked off with another Tamiya milestone: the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider in 1979, dune-buggy models that could go off-road. Suddenly RC cars weren’t limited to smooth pavement — they could tackle dirt, grass, and rough terrain, which massively widened their appeal.
Through the 1980s, a wave of legendary companies pushed the hobby forward: American brands like Team Associated (whose RC10 buggy became iconic), Losi, and Latrax (which later became Traxxas), alongside Japanese giants Tamiya and Kyosho. RC racing tournaments flourished, technology leapt forward, and the hobby gained the passionate global following it still enjoys today. Learn how RC cars work in our explainer.
📊 Then vs. Now
It’s amazing how far RC cars have come since that 1966 Ferrari. Here’s a quick comparison of the earliest RC cars and today’s models:
Today’s RC cars are faster, tougher, and far more accessible than the pioneers ever dreamed. See today’s electric RC cars on Amazon #ad
⚠️ Common Myths & Fun Facts
Myth 1: Tamiya made the first RC car.
Truth: Elettronica Giocattoli did, in 1966. Tamiya’s first RC cars came a decade later, in 1976.
Myth 2: The first RC car was electric.
Truth: It was nitro (gas) powered. Electric RC cars became popular in 1976.
Myth 3: Tesla invented the RC car.
Truth: Tesla demonstrated a radio-controlled boat in 1898, not a car, but his work made RC possible.
Myth 4: Tether cars were the first RC cars.
Truth: Tether cars ran on a wire/string and weren’t radio-controlled, so they don’t count as true RC cars.
❓ FAQ & Final Summary
When was the first remote control car invented?
The first remote control car was invented in 1966 by the Italian electronics company Elettronica Giocattoli. It was a 1:12 scale, nitro-powered Ferrari 250 LM, and it’s widely regarded as the first RC car made for hobby use, the model that started the modern RC hobby. While radio control technology itself dates back to Nikola Tesla’s radio-controlled boat in 1898, the first actual remote control car appeared in 1966. Commercial production spread quickly afterward, and the hobby grew enormously through the 1970s and 1980s into what we enjoy today.
Who invented the first RC car?
The first RC car was invented by Elettronica Giocattoli, an Italian electronics company founded in 1964 in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Just two years after forming, in 1966, they produced the first remote control car, a model Ferrari 250 LM. They followed it with a Ferrari P4 model shown in 1968. While no single person is usually named as the inventor, this company is credited as the creator of the first RC car. Shortly after, the British firm Mardave became one of the first to produce RC cars commercially for the wider public.
Was the first RC car electric or gas powered?
The first RC car was gas (nitro) powered, not electric. The 1966 Ferrari 250 LM used a tiny nitro model engine, similar to those used in model airplanes of the era. This surprises many people, who assume early RC cars ran on batteries. In fact, electric RC cars didn’t become popular until 1976, when Tamiya released the electric Porsche 934. For the first decade of RC cars, nitro and gas engines were the standard, with electric power only taking over later as motors and batteries improved and made RC easier and cleaner to run.
What was the first electric RC car?
The first popular electric RC car was the Tamiya Porsche 934 Turbo, released in 1976. This 1/12 scale Japanese model used an electric motor mounted on a flat pan chassis, and it helped kick off the electric RC revolution. Tamiya’s electric cars were cleaner, quieter, and easier to run than the nitro cars that came before, which made the hobby far more accessible to everyday people and children. Combined with Tamiya’s detailed, realistic kits, the electric Porsche 934 is often credited with turning RC cars into a mainstream worldwide hobby.
How old are remote control cars?
Remote control cars are around 60 years old, dating back to 1966. That’s when the first RC car, the Elettronica Giocattoli Ferrari 250 LM, was made. The radio-control technology that powers them is even older, going back to Tesla’s radio-controlled boat in 1898, over 125 years ago. So while the RC car itself has been around for roughly six decades, the wireless control idea behind it is more than a century old. In that time, RC cars have evolved from rare, gas-powered curiosities into the fast, affordable, high-tech machines available everywhere today.
When did Tamiya start making RC cars?
Tamiya started making RC cars in 1976, with its electric Porsche 934 Turbo leading the way. Although Tamiya was not the first company to build an RC car (that was Elettronica Giocattoli in 1966), it became perhaps the most influential, popularizing electric RC and later off-road RC with models like the 1979 Sand Scorcher. Tamiya’s realistic, well-engineered, easy-to-build kits turned RC cars into a beloved global hobby. To this day, Tamiya remains one of the most respected and recognizable names in the RC world, especially among scale and hobby enthusiasts.
RC history at a glance:
- 📡 1898: Tesla’s radio-controlled boat starts it all.
- 🏁 1966: First RC car, a nitro Ferrari 250 LM (Italy).
- 🏭 1967: Mardave (UK) begins commercial RC cars.
- 🔋 1976: Tamiya’s electric Porsche 934 popularizes RC.
- 🏆 1979–80s: Off-road & the golden age of RC.
So there’s the full story of when the first remote control car was invented: 1966, an Italian, nitro-powered Ferrari 250 LM from Elettronica Giocattoli, built on radio-control roots stretching back to Tesla in 1898. From those humble beginnings, RC cars grew through the nitro 1970s, the electric Tamiya revolution, and the off-road 1980s golden age into the incredible machines we drive today. Pretty amazing for a hobby that started with one little model Ferrari. 📜🏁
More RC know-how in our guides on
how RC cars work,
electric vs nitro RC cars,
how much RC cars cost, and
the best RC cars.
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