When I first discovered this chassis 2 years back, I just had to get one. Found one never ran shelf queen and it was just too pretty to scratch it so kept it for display. Found and bought 2 rollers for running about. Love how the original beautiful grooved tires (without tire sauce) would squeak when cornering hard on high traction tracks. Trouble is they wear down pretty quickly. This chassis on stock motors handles like a slower 4wd TC but it can still take on modern Tamiya F104s on similar motors with no problem.

Hey Gav I just got hold of a mint 49336 with three body sets, the Ferrari, BMW and Carbon Patterned version. Everything you said about these kits is spot on. Such a beautiful and realistic chassis I can’t help picking it up or pushing down on the shocks everytime I walk past it.

That car is absolutely gorgeous rckicks. I think i will be owning one of those F1 cars.

I have a used Ferrari F2001 that I use as a runner, and the F201 original Bodies kit that I bought NIB and built to be a shelf queen. The original bodies kit came with two Tamiya designed bodies, one in clear, and one that was pre-painted in carbon fiber pattern. The carbon pattern is the one I built and display and is one of the best looking cars ever IMO. The Tuned Chassis kit came with a Williams body in carbon pattern that is also very nice. I think you got yours for a very good value. I paid $550USD for my original bodies kit many years ago. I did get a great deal on my Ferrari runner, I got that for $35USD shipped.

The car was designed for the tamya cpr unit sold with the adspec radio or separately the cpr unit back then was very suseseptable to water in damp conditions the tyres with the ribs have the same contact area as the touring cars at the time though never raced agenst them in that class nice revue though gavin thanks keep up the good work

Still got mine. It has been upgraded with a one way diff in the front, got blue anodized aluminum parts for the body mount, metal motor mount and aluminum shock dampers from ride (I think). Also got a full spare set of original wheels and rims. And also compound A and B wheels. Ran it only indoors but hit a few cabinets so the front bumper had little dents in the sticker. Also got an upgrade body set to make it an F2002 model but never got to it to build it. It's technically speaking an awesome chassis but it lacking speed. Can't wait to see your car driving. Cheers!

You are not alone in the type of purchase that you have done. I too have done the samething. I also love the CHASSIE and the car as a whole. I do run mine and have a blast doing it. There is no harm in extra parts. I would love to see the proposed up-grades that you are going to do. It's unfortunate you could not do a side by side comparison. Modified vs stock did it actually improve handling, speed or? (Good review). The only thing I wish for is a Tamiya White plastic hard body for the car with the improvements that you mentioned. In racing reviews these are the following comments I have heard. Remember, It's the internet. The F 201 has inadequate cooling to the motor,. Rather slow, due to the 4 wheel drive? Only raced in a "retro" race. Chassie is "tight" not enough room.

Enjoy! Aesthetically, it’s my favorite Tamiya onroad chassis but not so much, functionally. The stock shocks leak, the stock turnbuckles lack hex flats, and the front suspension requires a brace, yet I love mine.

My second Tamiya Kit was the F1 Road Wizard. Yesterday I ordered the Tamiya TC-01 E Gen 2 and I am looking forward to building it. Thanks for the memories.

Abbiamo appena trovato questo video e ci è piaciuto. L'F201 è un classico e stiamo finendo una build NIB per correre questa primavera. We just found this video and enjoyed it. The F201 is a classic and we are actually finishing a NIB build for running this spring.

You know she’s on to you🥰 A good story can always help.....I see that you were “trying” to be frugal😎

I have one I bought new and built while home after surgery (2nd version w/ 2 bodies). Then none of my radio gear was small enough to fit so it has bee a static model all these years. It came with two body shells, one pre printed to look like carbon fiber, and a clear one to paint. I never even painted it. I actually wanted to run it because it has enclosed gears & diffs. My previous F1 car had open gears & here in Florida the sand was horrible. I have heard that the differentials are bad, they use ball bearings instead of planet gears and this design slips a lot. Don't know for sure, never ran mine. Glad I kept the box, I may have to paint that clear shell red, that looks really great.

Gorgeous looking car. Really love it 😍

Wow I thought I imagined this car back in the day when I was early teens. This is epic seeing the rc on a video amd not just a picture in the old tamiya broucher.

Beautiful car. Always love those early 2000’s F1 style cars. Wish Tamiya could bring them back

I have one of these . They drive very well . I only have a few hrs on mine because I wanted to keep it in good shape .

One for the shelf and one for the skatepark :P

My brother and I still actively drive these cars and we have designed and 3D printed parts to bring it into the modern era. We came up with a re-imagined rear gearbox design that accommodates the F104 style wings widely available on the market while also addressing a host of structural issues that plagued this model if you crash or hit the wall. Also, finding replacement rubber tires has become increasingly difficult for this car despite sharing the same size as the 3Racing FGX and discontinued HPI F10. If only Hudy or Volante could make them, I think there is still a large owner group that would want to keep these beautiful cars running!

I just completed building one with a carbon chassis and all the hop ups . A well designed model and i enjoyed building it .

I wish the TC01 could fit F1 bodies like this one!

We use to race the Tamiya F103 years ago, we would use gardenhose to make the track layout, worked awesome.....maybe I need a new F1 kit.

Needs marlboro stickers

Unfortunately the decals on mine (sourced from US) don't incorporate the Marlboro logo; they are just white like the box-art. I do have a high-res scan of the original decal sheet, so I might try and get some replicas made up... I also bought the body-shell set for the BMW (including the wheels) back in the day, so I can swap it between.

looks amazing

I’m adding this to my wish list!! Lovely looking car

Nice find, and fun video to watch... I still have two of them as well (I guess I'm idiot... LOL!!). They were cool for the time but not really very good cars. Lots of issues with it, but I still love it. The points structure was different then, that's why the points total was different. 10 points for a win, and points only doled out to sixth position. It used to be, 10 (1st), 6, 4, 3, 2, 1. Then they changed it to pay points to 8th... Then to 10th, and 1st place got 25 points. You can't really compare points totals anymore. Anyway, nice vid man!, really enjoyed it!

I've been looking for one of these F201's and just built the 3racing FGX 2018 F1 car.

wow that screaming V10 sound

I have the Williams BMW bodied F201 but mine needs a front gearbox because the front shock mounts just crumbled apart but it's a wonderful car when it's running but it is a fragile car so don't get crazy with it

I got my f201 as a wreck with bits missing and it took me a yr to find all the missing bits and are super hard to find ( chassis and diff housings) now it runs and is amazing compared to the f103 with I find undriveable. I highly recommend the ultra lightweight props 👌 and will be doing more upgrades soon

Bought a couple of these around launch. Got the chassis with two bodies version still NIB, but bought the 2001 built, so ran that one. Remarkable things to drive. So much more compliant and user friendly than the 2WD cars, although obviously nowhere near as pretty. I could never understand why they discontinued them so soon. The main thing you need for one of these is the speed tuned gear set, a loony motor & speed controller, plus a decent pile of tires👍🏻

I just looked on eBay.. there are NIB kits going for $600+, used are over $300

Great car, I don't normally bother with F1 or road cars but a Michael car to go with my zakspeed capri road car 🤔 going have to consider this one.

I had one of these that I raced and ended up selling, regretted the sale so bought an NIB one from ebay that I still have.

Nice find! I always wanted one of these when they first came out, but sadly never bought one. Looking forward to your running video of car #2 and hearing how it drives compared to the TC-01.

I still have photos of mine from before I sold it, when I was 15 :D Also, I remember as a 15 year old, this chassis was a royal pain in the you know what to put together, everything is extremely cramped.

2:05 4WD Formula 1 car? That sounds like the Ford Escort that they released on the MF01X... it is more about the looks than realism. 2:45 So they addressed that with a one-way diff in reverse I hope? Oh no?... ugh... Looks like an improvement of the TL01 chassis with a different placement for the shocks.

I love mine, it has all the hop up and carbon fiber chassis and hard to find aluminum hub carriers front and rear.

Bought a Duratrax Delphi Indy last week 😂 Always wanted one of the F series Tamiyas too. I'll bite the bullet on the right deal of course. Also have a videos coming. That's awesome stuff!

That Ferrari looks fantastic, not exactly accurate but still really nice! And that F201 chassis, WOW!!

Gavin, woah no shout out!?!!! welcome to the F201 Family

the problem with the tamiya f1 cars is they production volume number were so low and the availability window so short that now years later parts are impossible to find, i have an f103l I'm trying to restore that needs a new body and there haven't been any available for a long time and you can't even use another f1 body because it was the only f1 tamiya sold which had a 280mm wheelbase instead of 270mm like all the rest so i am being forced to try and mold a new one myself by trying to cast the vacuum mold using the old busted up body for the template which is proving to be a challenge and demands more time then i have to spare ...

It's beautiful, well done!

Imagine adding manual transmission tech to formula RC cars to make them emulate real F1 racing? It's available via US patent: US 11,148,065 B2. Works especially well for vehicles that are too fast/powerful for small tracks.

I have the Ferrari and the Williams F1 BWM both brand new in the box. Got them in a package deal. Love the F1 style cars. But due to the rarity of these now. Not sure I want to build or drive them.

My personal favorite F1 RC is the Kyosho Red Bull Nitro. This style is definitely more obtainable at the price (at least used)

Gav, you have a Buggyra (or 5 ) : ) could you put the shell on either of these chassis`s? Would like to have a really pucker truck "racer"

Hi, Good Video again, but may i allow to correct on one small thing. Its was not 4 Different Kits beeing released of the F201 Chassis, its was 5 !! The 5th one was the Tamiya Sauber C22 (58401). It was using a Ferrari F2001 Body/Wings , but with a different Sauber Petronas Decal Sheet having german F1 Drivers H.H. Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld. Just for your Info. I have one, so i know well on that. Crazy the Prices in UK are. In germany you could get them cheaper. F201 is a nice chassis with really good performance , but a F1 RCar needs alsways needs be 2WD... The Kyosho 1/8 F1 Chassis of 1992/1993 are the true Materpieces in that respect. I like RCKICKS, so get on with it !!

I own a Tamiya F201 car, but I replaced the plastic chassis with the 3Racing carbon fiber chassis.

I had and raced the Williams body and im now looking for another.

I have a Jacque Villaneau F-1 Tamiya think it gen 1 kit.

Tgats my dream tamyia car and come on kicks drive it upgraxed just make a small faom trak so nothing gets messed up lol love the vids

Impressive! You would like to see my homemade 49cc RC Car 1/5!!

That is sweet! I wish I would had gotten one. They should rerelease it.

Tamiya has a new product announcement in less than 24 hours. Please please be the F201. It IS the 20 year anniversary after all.

I loved the F201 chassis 😍 just hated that it was 4WD and came with a Ferrari body, as I’m not a Ferrari fan at all. But that chassis is sexy af. The engineering that went into it must have been insane. When the TC01 came out, it was the first thing that came to me that it was (sort of) a F201 successor in a way, at least a ‘spiritual’ successor. But I’m wondering, if you’re only using the car as a display model, and put hop-up’s on it, like the shocks, do you fill them with oil or leave them empty (as it won’t be driven) and the shocks might start leaking after some time, as shocks tend to do after a while?

Cracking video rc kicks and i am a formula 1 fan too whats your favourite top 3 drivers mine are Lewis hamilton Valtteri bottas Charles leclerc

Do you think I can fit the F2001 body to the TC01 chassis?

Hi, i have the same one, also brand new. There is also a sauber version of the f201.

Love it I like one can't find one now grrrrr

Will you use the CPR 160 unit on it? I remember the space for electronics was made so this one would fit in there exactly.

I picked one up for 50$ used with box and original papers guy didn’t know what he had

I have a rare Kyosho Formula one Williams Renault FW14 M 1:8 Best.-Nr. 3273 io sale rigth now.

I have this but the speed control never worked so its still in a box mostly unfinished.

nice let me know if you are willing to sell the used one after you have your fun.

I loved my f201 fun to drive but they had self destructing diffs though

Want one know 😎

WHAT ARE THE BLACK WHEELS YOU UPGRADED TO ON ONE OF YOUR F2001’S?

Love the look of that F1. How well, or how bad, does that F1 body fit on the TC01? I'd be interested to see if you can slap on a F1 body on the new chassis!

This car is literally older than me

Have you ever heard of ic engines ?

Really like this one. How much for your other one??

I sold mine 13 years ago... :(

I’m looking for the Marlboro decals are these custom made?

Do you still have this chassis available for sale ?

I brought a factory made, unused one for 90 quid.

F201 indeed was a failure, the 3racing FGX 2018 is the most realistic RC formula

Where can i get the wheels?

😂hope the wife isn't watching this one.

I NEVER understood why bodyworks were so damn TERRIBLE in terms of shape. I got an f2005 toy RC that got 10x more accuracy in terms of shape. Is something i always hated

I bet your wife is happy to😕😂😂

No he is a Mercedes fan