Story: Jonathan Millstein

Photography: Andrew Link

In the middle of trying to put together this issue, we spent a day trying to jump this remote-control Ford F-150 SVT Raptor through a water balloon. Why? Because when Texas-based Traxxas sends you an RC truck capable of doing more than 30 mph, a motor upgrade bringing that to more than 40 mph, plus a 400 (scale) horsepower, you gotta spend a day letting boys be boys.

Given that we here at RIDES know a thing or two about cars and power, we sought out one of the freshest RC cars on the market. Our requirements were simple: It had to be a realistic-looking truck to rep the trucks in this issue, and it had to be battery powered, because our insurance doesn’t stretch far enough for us to play with gasoline in a midtown Manhattan office building. Unsurprisingly, we found the big power and big truck we were looking for in Texas.

It was inevitable that something would be jumped: other RC cars, models, strangers sunbathing in the nearby park, a real car? However, most of these ideas fell victim to logistical concerns, since we couldn’t afford to crash it into the window of a real car or disfigure a model. In the end, we decided to jump the car in our studio, aimed at a water balloon filled with red water hanging four feet above the ground. The result was a very wet studio and some stained clothing, but also, and most important, some pretty sick shots of this Raptor in flight.

Traxxas:

-> Ford F-150 SVT Raptor ($274)

-> 1/10 scale

-> 40mph

-> 400+ (scale) horsepower

-> Extreme Velineon Power System add-on: $270