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Note: This build log is excerpted from my web site . You can check there for larger versions of every photo or further reading.

The very first radio control car ever released by Tamiya was the 58001 Porsche 934 Turbo RSR in 1976. They never forgot this heritage and released several different versions of this icon over the years. In 1977 they came out with a special edition black version which was nearly identical apart from the color. For the 30th anniversary in 2006 they released the 49400 kit as a tribute to the original with box art in the same green and with similar markings but a TA-05 chassis. For the 40th anniversary they released it again, this time as 84431 with a TA-02 chassis and Jägermeister livery. This is the version I have. Under the hood it bears no resemblance to the original since chassis and electronics design have advanced so far in those 40 years.
Although I appreciate the nostalgic value, I would have bought this kit anyway because it is just a great looking model. This is technically a TA-02SW which stands for "short - wide". It has a shorter wheelbase and a wider rear stance than a regular TA-02. The chassis is a flat plate style with upper and lower FRP decks. It has four wheel double wishbone suspension and all wheel drive with a rear ball differential and a front gear differential. Shocks are plastic CVA type and outdrives are CVD. This model also has a unique stance with wider back tires which produce a wider track width than the front. The model uses a standard silver can 540 motor. The kit did not come with a speed controller, but it did include a lighting controller with front and rear 5mm LEDs for the body.

Speaking of the body, it is really the star of the show. Since this is a model of a specific racing car, I had to paint it like the box art in orange and use the plethora of stickers to make it perfect. The result is amazing. This model also features 2 piece wheels. The outer rim is plated chrome, and the inner spoked hub is pearl gold. I painted the hubs in metallic gold to make them even better.

On the road, the car is not spectacular. This is not particularly surprising. I'm actually glad the car is not very fast because that prevents me from damaging it. I don't like to build cars just to sit on the shelf, but I admit this one is too pretty to destroy. The low speed allows me to have fun with it without worrying about it. My copy remains completely stock apart from a steel pinion gear.

Assembly begins with the rear ball differential. First the 8 balls are inserted into the ring gear with a bit of grease, then the raceways and clamping sleeves are installed. The sleeves are internally splined to attach to the axle shafts.
The next part of the assembly is a bit unusual. It is normal for a ball differential to come with a thrust bearing which allows the unit to be clamped without locking itself to the clamping screw. But in this case you actually have to build the thrust bearing. This is some tiny, intricate work. There are 6 tiny balls in a cage that you can see in the left hand image. They are sandwiched between a pair of thrust washers and then clamped. Finally, the drive cups are inserted.
The motor mount plate uses a determinant assembly with different sets of holes for each pinion size. The kit comes with a 21 tooth aluminum pinion which I replaced with steel. The motor is then clamped to a fairly complex little gearbox which uses an idler gear between the spur and the rear differential, and a separate bevel gear on the spur to control the center drive shaft.
The next step is to install the FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) rear shock tower which also supports the rear upper plastic control arms.

You have to build the rear CVD axles. A bit of anti-wear grease keeps them rotating smoothly. The installation of the lower controls arms, axles, and hubs completes the rear gearbox and suspension assembly.
The front differential is a gear type instead of a ball type, but is housed in a similar plastic ring gear housing. It slides into another little gearbox with a set of right angle bevel gears.
The front suspension assembly is constructed similar to the rear with the addition of an FRP shock tower followed by the plastic control arms and CVD axles.
The plastic CVA shocks are built and installed next which completes the front and rear suspension assemblies. The photo on the left shows how similar they are, the primary difference being the motor on the back and the steering on the front. The central chassis plate goes together in only two steps with the attachment of a pile of plastic brackets and the dual bellcrank steering linkage which uses ball bearings at the vertical axles.

Time to finish the basic chassis by bolting on the front and rear suspension assemblies and installing the center driveshaft. Note that it is not a dogbone type, but just a solid steel rod with flattened ends.
I skipped forward a few steps here. I installed the speed controller, the receiver, the steering servo, and the battery and wired them all up. There's also an upper FRP stiffener which prevents the lower plate from having to react all the torsional forces. The two piece wheels with inner foams are the last step along with the slick tires. I did not glue them due to the low power of this electronics system. From the bottom view you can see the totally flat lower surface with nothing to catch. On the other hand, the ride height is very low so it is easy to bottom out over bumps in the road.
With the body on you can see how low this car is. Although the shadow hides the undercarriage a bit, in the previous images you can see how the low slung battery actually hangs beneath the body and is almost on the ground. Because of the limitations of the battery compartment, you can only use a 6-cell NiMH or similar shaped pack. The stickers took nearly forever. There were 71 of them. I have made no upgrades to this set and don't really intend to, but I may put a driver figure inside at some point to complete the look.

I took a lot of pictures to see if this thing had a bad side, but it turns out that it looks good from every angle. Now I just need to try not to scratch it up. Note that I added amber marker lights in the front and rear to supplement those that came with the kit.

She is awesome.

What a beautiful model!
Nice work

What a beautiful model!
Nice work

What a beautiful model!
Nice work

What a beautiful model!
Nice work

My favourite of your collection Blackbird.