Touring still on top
Vieira, Peter
For this issue, we tackled our biggest competition-car shootout ever: the Pro Electric Touring Car Smackdown. With ii cars in all, this was one gargantuan test. I’ll let the article do the talking as to how the cars fared, but two things struck me about touring cars in general as we tore up the track.
The touring car scene is huge! I challenge you to name one other RC competition-car category in which there are 11 real contenders. Electric racing trucks? There are three: Losi, Associated and Kyosho. Electric buggies? It’s the same suspects as the truck scene, plus Schumacher. Nitro racing? When Mugen releases its truck, there will be four serious entries. Five brands vie for 1/8 scale nitro buggy supremacy while Serpent and Mugen are the “big two” in on-road. Why are touring cars still so incredibly popular? I think it’s forthe same reasons as they became popular in the first place: touring cars are “real” in that they reflect a more accessible full-scale experience. Granted, none of us drive Opels or Vauxhalls, but everybody understands and can relate to a good-looking sedan, regardless of the marque it’s meant to resemble. And anyone can appreciate the appeal of adding trick aluminum widgets, aftermarket wheels, sleek bodies and the other goodies we use to personalize our cars. Or you can just buy the car with all the gee-whiz stuff already in place, which I feel accounts for much of the popularity ofthe top-of-the-line racing cars.
And they’re all pretty good! While I do believe that many of the race cars transponder, the cars are nonetheless designed to race. And nothing buiL Since Tamiya released the TA01 way back in the ’90s, the development an car technology have been relentless. From Yokomo’s first YR-4 and the ori tion-busting designs of the Team Losi Triple-XS and Kyosho V-One R, touri ratcheted forward with each new machine. There simply isn’t room for lesser cars. To be certain, some are better than others, but the market today just won’t tolerate a bona fide loser. Competition on the track and on the retail shelf is what has brought us the incredible cars we enjoy today. So enjoy them!
Peter Vieira
Executive Editor
Copyright Air Age Publishing Dec 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
