Drift RTR

RC Drifting is one of the more daunting parts of the RC hobby to get into.   For many folks, starting with the Ready-to-Run (RTR) car is the best choice.  Below are all of the current offering of RTR RWD RC drift cars, including their pros & cons.  Not sure if going RTR is the smartest move for you?  Check out this guide:

Redcat RDS

BEST VALUE RTR

  • The Redcat RDS gets a bad rap from many, as it has a few annoying things that need ironed out quickly out of the box.  Once you are past these easy tweaks out of the box, you will see the immense value Redcat offers in this car:   carbon fiber chassis, adjustable turnbuckles, quality servo, quality gyro, 100% tunable chassis....all at a VERY competitive price point.  If you are patient, they also regularly go on sale!    Having personally used this chassis for over a year as my main drift car - I 100% stand behind it being a solid choice for RC drifting.  

Yokomo

HIGHEST POTENTIAL

  • This car leaves A LOT to be desired straight out of the box.  I'm OK with the brushed setup in the car...but the servo, gyro, controller are all abysmal.  Literally the worst RTR gyro of ANY of the ones on this list.   BUT - this chassis also has the highest performance potential.   Based on the very proven Yokomo RD platform, there are THOUSANDS of upgrades out there for this car.    Bottom line:  more trouble up front, but most likely the chassis you will hold onto for the longest.  

Team Associated DC10

HIGHEST PRICED

  • I really struggle with this car.   It drives really well right out of the box.  Electronics are on-par with the other competitors, adjustability is there...but the price tag is really hard to justify.   If you are a fan of Team Associated and love their products - then this is a great way to get started in RC drifting.   If you are open to the other brands on this list...then I would suggest looking at one of them instead.

MST RMX

MOST POPULAR

  • For YEARS, this was the only RTR you could have...so it has a HUGE following.   If you ask on any online forum or at your local drift track, 90% this is the car that folks suggest.   Whenever you go to a drift track, odds are that multiple of these chassis are there on site.   This is great for a newb who needs to learn.  It is very helpful to have the same chassis as others are your local event.  Bonus:   MST offers the largest selection of bodies to choose from.   The downside:  this chassis is getting OLD and non-competitive.  The performance ceiling is just not that high on these vs the competition.   Many folks start with this chassis, but many also grow out of it rather quickly.  

Kyosho

MOST SCALE REALISTIC

  • This Kyosho chassis is almost counter-culture to the rest of the RC drift world as it was released in 2025.   While other companies are trying everything they can to enhance the performance of their cars, Kyosho comes out with the most realistic, detailed body of ANY of them.   Plus a plastic-fantastic chassis that emphasizes adjustable wheelbase over performance.   This car is for the person who is into the scale details and isn't worried about having the highest performing car on track.