A British engineer has actually turned a quadcopter drone on its side to create the quickest battery-powered remote-controlled automobile ever seen. Stephen Wallis, who lives in Rugby, England, has spent the last two decades infatuated with high-performance R/C vehicles.
Wallis’s latest creation, The Beast, drew inspiration directly from drones to produce something truly astonishing. Rather than creating a traditional RC car with gears and differentials, Wallis installed four strong motors side by side. Wheels take the place of propellers, and steering / propulsion issues were solved by making the motors turn at slightly different speeds. He also used the drone’s normal flight controller, which handles the fancy things like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and super-fast sensor feedback.
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This approach is brilliant since it eliminates all of the complexity often found in high-speed vehicles. In a normal-speed automobile, all of the gearboxes and differentials add weight and are difficult to tune. The Beast avoids all of that by directing the engines’ power directly to the wheels, and stability is provided by software that corrects things a thousand times per second. This gadget simply stays on course, similar to how a drone hovers effortlessly in windy weather.
To reduce drag, Wallis put an extremely aerodynamic body around it. For the record attempt, he utilized the largest battery he could find: three six-volt packs linked together to provide 76 volts at peak output. He also reduced the tire diameter somewhat, from 99mm to 94mm, which made a significant difference. It prevented the tires from breaking apart under the extreme rotation speeds.
On September 19, 2025, he made the attempt at Llanbedr Airfield in Wales during a major R/C speed event. The conditions were not ideal, as it was raining and visibility was almost non-existent, but The Beast nevertheless managed to set a new record, ripping around the course at an average speed of 235 mph, a clear new world record. It is just the fifth R/C car in history to reach 200 mph in a properly sanctioned event.
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