Dash-1 Emperor vs Dash-01 Super Emperor
Dash-1 Emperor and Dash-01 Super Emperor sound like punctuation variants of one car. Tamiya sells them as two MS chassis assembly kits: Dash-1 Emperor 18625 and Dash-01 Super Emperor 18632. Both preserve the Dash! Yonkuro family connection. Their common mechanical platform is a reason to compare the bodies and special included pieces closely, rather than assume one is an automatic chassis upgrade over the other.
The identical published footprint
Both official product pages identify an MS chassis with a centrally mounted double-shaft motor and give the same assembled footprint: 152 mm long by 92 mm wide. Both include a motor, use snap-together construction and require two AA batteries separately. MS splits into nose, centre and tail sections, allowing a builder to service those sections without treating the chassis as a single fused plate. That is different from an MA one-piece chassis, but it is shared by these two Emperor kits. There is no kit-specific gear ratio on the English pages for 18625 or 18632, so a precise stock gearing comparison needs an instruction sheet or the actual box. Do not assign either model a ratio by copying a generic MS chassis chart.
Dash-1 Emperor: the older visual language
Tamiya presents item 18625 as a revival of a classic Dash-1 Emperor body. It preserves the top air intake and rear exhaust cues, rearranged to fit the MS platform. The product page specifically calls out pin-spike tyres as a reminder of the earlier style. This is a meaningful difference for a collector and for somebody who wants the distinctive physical tyre profile as it leaves the box. A racer should still evaluate the tyres on the actual course rather than assuming that a nostalgic tread is superior on every surface. The Emperor and Burning Sun MS guide provides the wider history of these MS reinterpretations; this page concentrates on the two Emperor names.
Super Emperor: added body and display details
Dash-01 Super Emperor 18632 is tied to Yonkuro as the Dash Corps leader's machine. Tamiya describes a dynamic shell with separate representations of front and rear suspension, lights and engine, plus red-stripe stickers for the white body. It also includes a display bumper exclusive to this kit. That bumper is a model-specific presentation piece; before relying on it in a race setup, inspect how it fits with your rollers, the event's allowed parts and the maximum machine dimensions. The two models' equal published footprint does not tell you how a particular decorated or tuned build measures after extra pieces are mounted.
Pick the Emperor you actually want to build
If the original intake/exhaust silhouette and pin-spike tyres are the attraction, the plain Dash-1 Emperor is the clearer choice. If the separately detailed Super Emperor shell and exclusive display bumper are the point, select item 18632. Both start on MS, so motor-family purchases remain in Mini 4WD PRO rather than VZ or FM-A. The MS chassis tuning guide is useful when you later move from preserving box appearance to setup experiments. For a first run, assemble according to each kit's sheet, keep decorative pieces clear of rollers and tyres, and test a build before cutting or changing it. No official source here establishes that the “Super” name means a faster measured car.
The display bumper deserves a separate check if the car will be used on track. Tamiya calls it a display piece and does not describe a race purpose for it. Keep it safe for collection use and verify any racing arrangement against the current event rules. Similarly, if the pin-spike tyres are the reason you choose the original Emperor, retain them until you have tested the stock build. Replacing the most distinctive part before that first run would erase the most useful comparison between the two boxes.
Frequently asked questions
Are Dash-1 Emperor and Dash-01 Super Emperor the same item?
No. They have distinct Tamiya numbers, bodies and special kit details, although both use MS and share the published 152 × 92 mm footprint.
Does Super Emperor use a later chassis?
No. Both compared items are MS chassis assembly kits with an included double-shaft motor.
Which kit has the faster stock gear ratio?
The English official pages do not publish a kit-specific ratio for either. Check the included instruction sheet rather than guessing from the name.
Sources checked 26 September 2026: Tamiya Dash-1 Emperor 18625 and Tamiya Dash-01 Super Emperor 18632.