Gaining ground

We are still missing the chassis. Coincidentally our buddy Ralf "Ralle" Winkler want's to get rid of his Trekker (or Thing, or VW 181, or what ever name it has) and suggests a barter business. Walter and Ralf struck a deal, because the Tekker is of good use for our project. It features special spindles, increasing the ground clearance by five centimeter (around two inches) compared to Beetle spindles. And up we want to go!

Up is the keyword, as we want to ask Tamiya Deutschlands leadership for permission regarding our Sand Scorcher. We want to make sure not to violate any rights by building the real car. Senior Marketing Manager Thomas Peter has nothing against it, but dubble checks with the headquarter in Japan. Shortly afterwards a phone call from the boss himself, Tamiya-san. He is very pleased with our project, furthermore, he was keen to have the full size Sand Scorcher on display at the international Toy Fair in Nürnberg, Germany, in 2010. The reason? Tamiya is celebrating the 30th anniversary with a re-release of the legendary Sand Scorcher buggy.

Of course we didn't say no. And we didn't say no when Anja Montag from the TV show Abenteuer Auto (on Kable 1) asked, if she could do a report on our Sand Scorcher.