Team Magic have released the 2009 version of their E4 Rubber spec touring car chassis. The new car features a host of small improvements such as a larger motor mount area, a new top deck that enables 5-cell packs to be mounted to the front or rear, a new chassis plate and battery mount as well as a new top mounted single bell crank steering system. New belts and improvements to the shock absorbers complete the upgrades.
Source: Team Magic [teammagic.com.tw]
Rumours about a possible 1/12 scale on-road car from Slovakian manufacturer Xray had been around for a while now but it was at last years on-road World Championship in Thailand when the first prototype cars hit the public road.
Pictures of the XII named car have been rare before the actual event although some spy shots floated around the internet showing that the first ever 1/12 scale car from Xray was very likely of a conventional ‘T-bar’ design with a rather large and ‘brushless-friendly’ power pod. Come the WC the secret was revealed and Xray factory driver Teemo Leino set some very impressive practice times with the orange toned XII. Information on a release date had not been given at that time but rumour had it that the pan car was due to be production ready by the beginning of 2009.
During the World Championships in Thailand we got talking to the Russian designer of the new Awesomatix touring car and we showed you the first CAD image of the car. Now the team behind the car have released full details about this new concept and puts to rest the queries we had about how exactly everything worked. Going against the trend in current touring car design they have utilized many unique features, including some patented innovations, all designed to improve the handling characteristics. The two outstanding features of this car are a new patented suspension dampening system, smooth, lightweight and with a low centre of gravity. The dampening system is fully adjustable without the need for disassembly and the compression and rebound dampening rates are controllable and consistent. The other thing is the drive train that combines the benefits of shaft and belt drive systems, without the negative side effects such as so-called ‘torque steer’, associated with shaft drive RC cars. These two properties have allowed them to incorporate many other innovations that are not obvious upon initial inspection.
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Seen first at last years toy fair, Serpent have announced the impending release of their 1/24th scale racer, the S240. Serpent joined forces with experienced micro-racers and created this 2wd pan-car, a simple, strong and proven design, with no complicated suspension setups, just put it on the track and race. Made using carbon fibre throughout, it has a ball differential, full ball bearings and can accept special LiPo packs for over 15 minutes run time. Expect an end of January release date.
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Seen in the Corally pits at the DHI Cup in Denmark, which Red RC are covering live, is the new yet to be released follow up to the RDX Phi, the Phi 2. Featuring a new chassis as well as new front and rear bulkheads, the car has essentially been designed to accept LiPo cells. Retaining the same transmission from the previous car, the upper deck is now higher thanks to changes made to the bulk heads and this enables the LiPo packs to fit. Some other new changes include wider set lower wishbone supports as well as the all new chassis itself.
View our live event coverage here.
Now released, the new Xray XII may at first glance seem like a simple and traditional design, but that’s where the similarities end. The XII claims to achieve a state of perfection by focusing on well thought-out refinements to create a car that is easy to drive, work on, and adjust. Top-quality materials such as self-developed composite mixtures, Hudy Spring Steel, premium Swiss 7075 T6 aluminum and highest-grade graphite are the signature of Xray and the XII has them in abundance. Designed using sophisticated CAD tools, and manufactured using the world’s best machining and molding machinery, the XII achieves a level of quality in all details that is second to none.
Full details on the new XII can be found here.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
LRP have released the new factory team edition of their S18 TC touring car platform. The LRP R&D team has designed a competition 1/18th scale micro car that is tailored for pure racing. The car has been optimised in every small detail with all attention aimed at pure performance of handling, durability and ease of maintenance. The Factory Team Edition features a new refined ultra-smooth and efficient drivetrain, new long carbon plate top-deck design and carbon plate chassis that is up to 58% lighter than previous plastic chassis, resulting in perfect flex characteristics for higher-traction and precision controlled handling. The oil filled threaded shocks in combination with the anti roll bars front and rear provide driving performance on highest level.
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We don’t cover much oval racing, but this new car from McPappy Racing is pretty sweet looking. The ‘Dart’ has been designed with many new innovations and has the left-most weight, lowest rear roll centre, lowest centre of gravity, roomiest rear motor pod and is the lightest floating T-plate kit available today. The chassis was also designed and tested for just the right amount of chassis flex, while the floating T-plate design not only offers centerline position, but also offers an offset position. The kit is made with 2.5mm quasi-isotropic carbon fibre throughout and the rear pod is topless and can be moved farther to the left than anything else available. Without extending the wheelbase, the spacious pod allows you to fit a 124 spur with a 65T pinion.
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