Serpent sign Mr.Durango for return to Offroad racing
Serpent have just announced that they are to return to off road racing and have signed one of the sports top designers in the process. Gerd Strenge, better known as Mr.Durango from Germany, has entered into a long-term cooperation with Serpent, for the development of offroad rc racing cars. Strenge is famous in the electric offroad scene, for his very innovative Team Durango 1/10 scale 4wd offroad project. Gerd started this project in 2002 and he has been developing the car ever since. His Team Durango car has been European Champion and his cars have reached many GP, EC and even WC finals in the hands of famous drivers like Hara and Marc Reinhard.
This obviously also announces a return of Serpent in the offroad arena. Serpent has been very active in 1/8 offroad racing from mid 80-ties until late 80-ties. Cars like the legendary and EC winning Serpent Cobra and its successor the Serpent Spirit.
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Serpent’s R&D team and Gerd Strenge are now working together on a number of projects for the offroad market, but it will take some time before you will see the actual cars being introduced. Although proto-types have been running for a while already. Serpent will introduce offroad cars in 2008 (both 1/10 electric as 1/8 scale) and Gerd will be one of the R&D team to work on those projects for Serpent. His massive experience in offroad and his innovative idea’s will be a major asset for Serpent to create some of the finest offroad cars the market has ever seen. His emphasis is always very much on simplicity and ease of maintenance, which fits right in with the product-strategy that Serpent has choosen.
Serpent will not be making a copy of the 1/10 Durango as it is now (as others tried or are still trying), but will take the design a few steps further into a new concept, which will ofcourse share many of the basic idea’s behind the successfull Durango 1/10 car.
At the same time development work is in progress on the 1/8 scale offroad car too. Some major races have been attended already (Proline UK race) and the proto-type will be used in a number of other large races now to further develop the car.
Source: Serpent [serpent.com]
