Tamiya Avante

The year was 1988, and the hottest car, on the market was the Tamiya Avante. Four-wheel-drive offroad was booming, and Tamiya introduced its technological master- " piece with the hope that it would take the world by storm. For many, the Avante was the ultimate car-the pinnacle of RC tech when buggies reigned supreme.

Now, 13 years after the original Avante was reviewed in the September 1988 issue of Radio Control Car Action, we look back at a car that was ahead of its time. JP's Hobbies and Raceway in Ansonia, CT, has a pristine Avante on display. and they let me borrow it for a flashback to the years before Chain-drive was still popular for four wheelers back, in 88, that the Avante used an advanced shaft-drive system with the motor mounted parallel to the drive train. The front and rear gearboxes are equipped with scaled gear cliffs, and the spur gear features a ball differential; this makes the Av ante a triple cliff car. The front and rear gearboxes are fairly elaborate and use a combination of straight-cut and beveled gears.

Shooting the Avante really took us back in time, and we found ourselves getting nostalgic for the good old days-even though RC stuff is a lot better now! It's nice to look back, but don't get stuck in a time warp. You know you're stuck in 1988 when ... Your "digital" charger has a 15-minute timer.

You just over-charged your SCE pack. The only "TC" you know about is the guy who flew the helicopter on "Magnum PI."

You put belt drive on your RC10 ... ... after you dialed in the A&L trailing arms.

Not any more flashback fodder? Log onto cccaraction.com, and share it with the est of us old folks.

QUICK-RELEASE WHEELS

The Avante's hubcaps are actually integral mounting nuts. Pop-up tabs are used to unscrew the hubcap and remove the wheel. When the tabs are flipped down, they fit into the rim to prevent the hubcap from backing out.

HI-CAP DAMPERS

The Avante's aluminum-body, double-0-ring shocks are as smooth as any modern units and are precisely machined, There's nothing dated about them at all!

THROW-BACK ELECTRONICS

This is Avante sports gear straight from '88. Check out the pager-size receiver and extra-long antenna-nice. The Futaba ESC and the Trinity Monster Horse Power motor are classics,

FIBERGLASS CHASSIS

The arrowhead-shaped top deck looks pretty, but the main chassis is little more than a straight slab of fiberglass. The rear transmission sits on top of the lower deck, but the front tranny is actually a structural chassis component that is cantilevered off the front of the lower deck. The Avante accepted 6- or 7-cell packs and held the battery very close to the main chassis' centerline. A plastic retainer held in place by a body clip kept the pack in place.

MULTI-LINK SUSPENSION

What looks like a big mess is actually a 3-link suspension that had just as much adjustability in the front as in the rear: camber and toe-in were infinitely adjustable via thick aluminum turnbuckles. Note the spidery, cast steering hubs, universal-joint axles and the tiny pivoting castings that are joined by a urethane bushing. The pivoting castings allowed the front suspension to flex back in a crash rather than bend or break. The laydown shock position did not require a shock tower; instead, short standoffs held the shocks and, like the rear shocks. were braced by a threaded rod.

TRIPLE-BELLCRANK STEERING

The Avante's unconventional steering-servo placement called for an equally unconventional linkage. It worked; the extra bellcrank eliminated the need for an extra-long wire link at the servo, and the rigid aluminum bracket operated the primary bell

cranks smoothly with equal throw in both directions.

ROBOTECH BODY

The Avante's body is a good example of Japanese "sci-fi deco" at its best. The curvaceous shell looks ready to go into hyperspace with its dual "intakes" and uncaged bubble cockpit. A separate undertray is clipped beneath the chassis. Removing both pieces was a hassle; three clips hold the undertray, and the main body could be peeled off only after two body clips and both suspension braces were popped off.

`CHOCOLATE-CHIP" SPIKED TIRES

Back in 1988, soft compound tires did not exist hard, plasticky tires and spiky knobs ruled the day. The Avante wore spikes that were shaped like chocolate chips and hooked up fairly well on loose surfaces.

Tamiya cars were (and are) notable for their high-quality molding, detailed manuals and great box art, but the vintage machines had a little something extra that made them uniquely Tamiya: wacky wing slogans. Here are some of the classics; they probably seemed like a good idea in Japanese, but it's all in the translation ....

AVANTE-Being Nuts is Neat!

HORNET-Anytime Baby!

VANQUISH-Up and Away!

GRASSHOPPER 2-I'm Hopping Mad!

STRIKER-Get Rough!

FALCON-Born to be Wild!

FROG-No Guts, No Glory

EGRESS-Way Out Running

SUPER CHAMP-Go for It!

MAD CAP-Never Give Up

TERRA SCORCHER-Flying High

ASTUTE-Awesome!

Tamiya re-released the Wild Willy and XR-311, and the Bruiser came back briefly as the Mountaineer. Is there any hope for an Avante comeback? Chances are slim; none of its parts still exist as components of current Tamiya vehicles, and it would be very expensive to bring back all those molded and cast parts. If you want an Avante, check out eBay. But if you would settle for a Manta Ray-the historic 4WD tub-chassis buggy that gave life to the TA01 touring car and the entire touring car boom-- you're in luck; Tamiya plans to rerelease the Manta Ray as an Expert Built ready-to-run! E