Hot Wheels: Rift Rally brings your Hot Wheels collection to life.

Mixed reality experiences are becoming more popular and accessible. It is an exciting time where fandom, collecting, and technology are coming together in ways never before possible. Velan Studios and Mattel have joined forces to bring one of those experiences to life with our beloved Hot Wheels collection with Hot Wheels: Rift Rally. With this mixed reality experience, players/collectors are able to bring just about their entire Hot Wheels car collection to life in the real world through the aptly named “Chameleon” remote-controlled car.

Players choose their car and the Chameleon adapts its properties stats and even its look via augmented reality.

There are 3 key components to the experience. The car, the Chameleon, the track, and the actual game itself, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally. The way I did it, is I set up my track, via the pylons provided, then loaded up the game, connected the Chameleon, then loaded up a car, and drove through the pylons to program the track into the game. Now For all levels and game modes, the track is set. So all levels and game modes will be programmed to that track and setup until you decide you want to change it up. It sounds complicated, but the setup guide is very intuitive and after the first attempt it becomes second nature.

Hot Wheels: Rift Rally’s Chameleon

I’ve had a few remote control cars in my day. The Tantrum and Sidewinder are particular favorites, something about a car that can’t be flipped over. But the Chameleon outclasses those cars in every way. It’s faster, the battery lasts way longer, and it is far more intuitive to operate. It’s great when you have a turbo button at actually makes the car go

The Delores A. Brooks Recreation Center is now accepting members for its first-ever Teen RC Club. This is an opportunity for teens ages 12-18 to learn how to build, maintain and operate Radio Controlled Cars & Trucks at the Center every Thursday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. for six weeks beginning April 13. This is a free program, and registration ends  April 6. You can register by clicking here.

“To keep teenagers out of trouble, each recreation center has been challenged to create innovative programs that will give our youth something new to do, so we’ll be using our old BMX track an RC Track. This space has the potential to be the largest RC Track location in Georgia,” said Thomas Hudson with the Delores A. Brooks Recreation Center. 

The RC world is a fun hands-on approach to give teens a program that will allow them to build RC Cars as well as maintain the track and participate in local races this summer. This program also can run throughout the year and can be moved inside when the weather doesn’t permit. 

The 6-week course will teach teens how the trucks operate, from the  gears to suspension to motors. Then they will learn how to drive the RC cars on a flat surface before driving them on the Center’s RC Track. Each member will be required to complete the 6-week course in order to be qualified to participate in the summer races. 

This program will start with a maximum of ten members at Delores A. Brooks Recreation Center, but there are plans to introduce the program to other centers in the near future. 

REVIEW – As an 80’s child I can’t help but be a little jealous of the toys on the market now. Especially any toys that require batteries since battery technology has improved so much since then. So when the Bezgar HP161S Brushless 1:16 Scale Radio Control Car came up for review the little kid in me said I had to try it out. Let’s see how much RC car technology has improved since 1989. Spoiler, a lot.

What is it?

The Bezgar HP161S Wild Beast is a 1:16 scale radio control (RC) car using an 11.1V 3S type lithium polymer (Li-Po) battery and brushless motor that sends power to all four wheels to propel it up to 38 mph and it does so quickly.

What’s in the box?

• Bezgar HP161S RC Car
• Remote controller with AA batteries included
• USB charging cable
• Wheelie bar
• User manual and warranty card
• Wheel wrench, screwdriver

Hardware specs

• Model: HP161S
• Drivetrain: 4 wheel drive with full metal drivetrain
• Shocks: Four oil filled metal shock absorbers
• Motor: 2845 four pole brushless motor with cooling fan
• Servo: 2.1kg digital servo
• Battery: 11.1V 3S/25C 1050mAh Li-Po battery
• Charging time: 2 hours if using a 5V 2A charger
• Battery duration: 20 mins
• Ground Clearance: 1.5 inches
• Electronic Speed Control: 45A independent brushless ESC
• Remote Control: 2.4GHz
• Max speed: 62kph / 38mph
• Weight: 2.35 lbs
• Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.7 x 5.1 inches

Design and features

The Bezgar Model HP161S Wild Beast 1:16 Scale RC car looks like a typical RC car with a shell over chassis design. It has four rubber wheels that all spin to get the car to 38 mph. The oil-filled

A few years ago, Nintendo’s real-life-meets-video-game Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit turned my pandemic home into a theme park racecourse for my kids. Now, Mattel and Hot Wheels have created a new mixed-reality game for remote-controlled cars with Mario Kart Live developer Velan. 

Hot Wheels Rift Rally, arriving March 14 for $130, is an RC car video game that races around on your real-world floor.

And just like Mario Kart Live, it’s a lot of fun.

You need a Nintendo Switch to play Mario Kart Live, but Hot Wheels Rift Rally works with iPhones, iPads and the PlayStation 4 and 5. It can cross-play between them, either locally or with others online.

Hot Wheels Rift Rally is an RC car video game with a camera built in to stream racing to your phone or TV, with mixed-reality effects.

Scott Stein/CNET

I played with the Rift Rally for about an hour in New York. The concept is similar to Mario Kart Live: A camera-enabled RC car streams its point of view to your TV or Apple device. From there, you drive the car and see the real world augmented with all sorts of video game special effects and a glowing race track.

The twist with Rift Rally is that the car itself, a sort of futuristic compact race car called the “Chameleon Car,” can transform in-game into 140 different Hot Wheels cars. It works weirdly well. Even though the physical car drives around your home the same way, in-game you see a different car appear, along with different driving physics and speeds.

Rift Rally works on iOS with or without a controller: We played with an iPhone that had a Backbone snapped on.

Scott Stein/CNET

Much like Mario Kart Live, the camera-equipped car works along with four included gates that form

We’re just halfway through the first month of 2023 but we’re already looking forward to the next holidays. That’s because we’ve already found the first entry to our holiday wishlist: ROC Hobby’s radio-controlled classic Volkswagen Beetle.

Manufactured for almost 70 years, the Volkswagen Beetle or The People’s Car left a lot of impression on our childhoods. After all, over 21 million units were sold, making it an automotive icon across the globe. This RC model in RTR Gray color tugs our heartstrings and we can’t blame you if it does yours, too.

19 Photos

Just like the real thing, the RC VW Beetle comes with its motor at the back, albeit, battery-operated. It also has independent suspension on all fours. But unlike the actual Beetle, the model comes with a two-speed transmission and a switch to go from RWD to 4WD.

We love the details on this scale replica, as well. There are realistic fabric soft rubber seats and working lights, while the engine hatch, doors, and front compartment are all openable. There’s even a spare tire stowed inside the front trunk, plus the canopy opens to bring sunlight into the cabin.

The 1:12 scale model measures 13.3 inches (339 millimeters) long, 5.5 in (139mm) wide, and 5.5 in (139mm) tall. It has a wheelbase length of 8.0 in (202mm).

Out of the box, the RC VW Beetle comes with a 130 Brushed motor powered by a 2S Lipo 7.4V 380mAh battery, good for a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour). There are 9g servos as well, which control the steering and front wheels in a synchronized manner.

The price? FMS Hobby lists the ROC Hobby RC classic VW Beetle for only $189.99. Only four AAA batteries for the transmitter are needed to make it

SUTHERLIN — Scott Haury has always had a love for the miniature.

Growing up, he used to build towns made from Hot Wheels tracks in his parent’s backyard, creating trails for the little toy cars in the dirt outside of their home. In the 1980s, he started using radio-controlled cars, commonly known as RC cars, small scale-model vehicles driven remotely with a controller.

Haury never imagined where his hobby would take him. Decades after using his first RC car, he’s now the owner of the Black Diamond RC Ranch in Sutherlin, a system of trails purpose-built for RC enthusiasts that stretches for over 3 miles in the hills behind East Sixth Avenue.

“This is pretty much my childhood, just on a much bigger scale,” Haury said. “I was playing with little Hot Wheels in the dirt, and now we’re here playing with these 1/6 scale monsters.”

The RC ranch is built for what enthusiasts call “crawling,” where drivers use large, rugged vehicles to traverse off-road and rocky terrain. During the winter off-season, Haury said around 30 people come to the trails weekly, but during summer competitions, the number can skyrocket into the hundreds.

“When we first started, there was probably like five or six of us,” Haury said. “And now it’s just a constant flow.”

Haury calls himself an RC “addict” — he owns at least 15 large RC crawlers and close to 400 RC vehicles in total, including helicopters, planes and drones — but his journey to creating an RC ranch began with an accident.

Ten years ago, Haury, who works in construction, was badly injured. He broke his back, crushing four out of five vertebra in his lower lumbar, and used a wheelchair for six months.

“That’s how it all kind of happened, is that I got bored

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A small Iredell County city is the capital of North Carolina racing, but it’s not just NASCAR.

Mooresville is home to one of the only indoor remote-controlled racing facilities in the Carolinas. The facility opened in 2020 and filled a void from when a prior RC car track closed.

Monday nights are typically the biggest race of the week at Race City Speed Factory. The race has all the pre-race favorites at a typical racetrack. Think of a mandatory drivers meeting and national anthem precursor before the drivers start the race.

“Right now, we are one of the biggest One RC racetracks in the country. We are one of the biggest retailers for them,” Race City Speed Factory owner Matt Murphy said.

The cars aren’t your toy store remote-controlled cars. They’re smaller, faster, and have customizable setups.

“They have adjustable suspensions,” Murphy said. “There are different types of tires, different grip, softness, and hardness of tires, different spring rates. We can fully adjust these cars to your desire and handling characteristics.”

Murphy opened Race City Speed Factory in 2020, and his passion for RC car racing stretches back 20 years.

“At one point, I was gifted a used Radio Shack RC car, and to me, that thing was the coolest thing ever,” Murphy added.

Racing conditions ideal

While the RC cars are nothing like the toys from those big box stores, there is a similarity regarding the racing surface — carpet. There is a reason for it.

“The track is very consistent. It doesn’t change

RC cars are already a lot of fun, but Kobotix has upped the ante with the Real Racer FPV car. Combined with an app that enables recording video, taking photos, and even streaming, it’s a fun way to experience RC racing around a house or office. Priced at $150, is the Kobotix Real Racer a must-have RC toy? Be sure to hit the video below to find out.

Kobotix Real Racer: What’s included? 

Besides a smartphone, everything else you need for FPV driving is included in the package. The Real Racer comes with the car, a removable battery, a pistol grip controller, and an FPV headset. 

The FPV driving mode can be enabled from the Real Racer app on an Android or iOS smartphone. Through the app, the phone will connect to a Wi-Fi signal from the car to send the low-latency video signal. 

Additionally, the app gives some control over how the car behaves. There is a gyro mode that will help assist steering to prevent spin-outs, but I found myself preferring the normal driving mode after spending more time driving the Real Racer.

Kobotix Real Racer: Controller overview

Taking a look at the controller, it has the common design of a pistol grip with the accelerator controlled with the index finger and a wheel on the side that controls the steering angle. 

On the top and sides of the controller are even more dials and buttons for controlling top speed, steering trim if it feels like it is pulling to one side, max steering angle, and even taking pictures or recording videos. These are great additions to have at your fingertips on the controller for on-the-fly adjustments.

Kobotix Real Racer: Driving impressions

At full throttle, the Real Racer is fast. Topping out around 9.3 mph, it’ll zoom around