What's all this about?

This is the return of the Wild One. And yes, you read that right – we mean the toy dune buggy which first hit the market in 1985. The complex piece of kit you had to put together yourself before you took it off-road. Well, 38 years later and it’s back, but this time there’s a difference: it has been scaled up to fit two people and can be driven legally on UK and EU roads, and it’ll be unveiled publicly at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week.

Sounds unique, I suppose. How’s it put together?

The car’s manufacturer, The Little Car Company, says it has stayed as faithful to the original as possible, although some modifications had to be made to address the requests of deposit holders, such as widening the cockpit to comfortably fit two passengers. As a result, it now measures 3.6 metres long and 1.9 metres wide.

The interior is bare-bones but functional, with Cobra bucket seats and a five-inch digital screen, complete with added waterproofing. Some additional features were also added out of necessity, such as a windscreen and a wiper mechanism for enhanced practicality.

So will it be as capable as the radio-controlled version off-road?

We suspect not – the remote-controlled version doesn’t have to protect mushy, vulnerable humans – but the vital stats suggest it’ll be pretty rugged. The Little Car Company says simplicity and fun was the key focus of the Wild One Max’s development, with the brand’s CEO saying: “Modern cars are now too large, too fast, too complicated, and too heavy - we believe that there is an alternative. Our goal is to create innovative lightweight vehicles which bring the purity and fun back into driving.”

To that end, The Little Car Company has given the car a ground clearance of 270mm, which is more than you’ll get from most SUVs. The front suspension turrets have been smoothed to give improved visibility and better pedestrian safety, while the trailing-arm front suspension has also been swapped for a double-wishbone design. The car rides on 14-inch off-road Maxxis tyres, with adjustable Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, while each wheel gets its own Brembo disc brake.

Rugged indeed... How about power?

As with the remote-controlled car, the Wild One Max is electric. Fitted with eight swappable modular battery packs and a 38bhp electric motor, it has a total capacity of 14.4kWh, giving a range of roughly 125 miles on-road or 68 miles off-road.

And after surveying deposit holders about their interest in a road-legal version of the Max, the company has ensured that battery pack is road-legal, complying with the L7e quadricycle regulations for both the EU and UK markets. Essentially, it runs on similar legislation to the Citroen Ami and the upcoming Fiat Topolino.

Sold. When can I have one?

Production of the Max is set to commence in early 2024. Orders can be placed just after midnight on the July 13, with acceptance on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want one, though, you’ll have to stump up £35,000 plus VAT and shipping, with an additional deposit of £3,500 to be paid before you can take the wheel.

The Launch special edition is limited to the first 100 customers to place a deposit and comes with exclusive features not seen on the standard model. These include a custom titanium plaque on the dashboard and an original Wild One model kit, which they can build while awaiting delivery of their full-size car.