Robitronic Vision 1/8 electric buggy
 

Really sharp looking buggy. I like the CF "spine" like you see on 1/10 4WD buggies. Would like to get a look at the chassis by itself. Looks like a CF/alloy hybrid. The turnbuckles/tierods look a little thin to me.

http://www.rcbonus.com/news/?p=718

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ion0502113.jpg

Looks kinda fragile.

wow, it LOOKS nice! but I also think it looks to be kinda flimsy.

Trnbuckles look like 10th buggy parts... m3 threads?

The chassis looks interesting, but I always wonder why they do not laminate plastic and cf or g10 so the plastic can rub on the ground... I guess for what it does the alloy chassis work very well. especially if they have rub plates under the ft and rr diffs.

I liike it. Any idea when they will be out? The turnbuckles may be fine if it is light enough.

The turnbuckles/tirerods were definitely one of the first things I noticed, the shock towers look like they have some weak spots too. But damn, it sure is pretty. Also, I don't know if this is just a prototype or what? Production model could be a bit different.

I think the issue often times is that the design of these vehicles is for expert-level drivers. The team drivers get a prototype, and test it for a few months, and then come back to the design team and say, "Durability is great, we haven't broken anything." But in reality a pro-level driver is not a realistic example of who will be driving the kit. They don't spend a whole lot of time smashing into the boards or lawn darting from 20ft up like your average Joe who can't get around the track without a few spills along the way.

Still, looks awesome. I always liked the Robotronic Mantis truggy. You just don't see a whole lot of places carrying the Robotronic line.

It does look really light. I'd hesitate to say "fragile" or "flimsy" because CF is neither if used properly. The lighter weight will help it survive any crashes, too.

I'm going to guess the shock towers are 7075? They look to thin to be made from 6061, as it's not very stiff.

Overall I like it. If they make it with blue anodizing maybe I'll buy one.

This is almost like a bigger 1/10 buggy, which could do quite well if its able to handle some abuse. Many people have told me that a CF 1/10'ish electric 1/8 would be the best design for the track.

I think a few scrathes would ruin those good looks fast. Perfect for the pro's who rarely crash i guess.

I would rather have a converted Losi 810 if I wanted a light 1/8 buggy. But I like my normal 1/8's as they are.

Thomas G

Shocks look real beefy...

Anyone figure out the battery trays/holddowns? To me it looks like a hinge towards the inside of the rear spine. Not sure though?

EDIT: See the post below, one of the features listed is a snap-in battery tray. Definitely interested in that. A quick change battery system would be awesome.

Found more info on the Robitronic website: http://www.robitronic.com/news-reade...sion-1232.html

We have a vision – do you?

Of an 1/8th buggy, custom tailored to brushless technology. From the ground up to every tiny detail, our vision of something, that had never been done before now ... materializes!

Think of an 1/8th scale offroad racer. Competitive to boot, weighing in at around 3kg – race ready, that is! Think of a lightweight composite chassis made from carbon fibre with alloy inlays for heat dissipation. Now, add some radically new design choices, like a completely straightened center driveline and a novel approach to diff bearings for supreme smoothness and minimal wear and tear. Of course, radical must not preclude practical: There are just a few screws and bolts to loosen to fully access the drivetrain.

So much for the work bench, now onto the track: Long a-arms and big bore shocks are essential for supreme offroad handling, whereas the included anti-sway bars add to the tweakability.

Uncompromised lightweight design is a key factor in our vision, turned into a host of carbon fibre, alloy and composite parts. Because less weight not only equals quicker lap times, but also less wear on the tyres and more runtime between pit stops, which in turn are kept as short as possible, due to an elaborated “snap in” battery tray for most 2s hardcase lipos.

As for the body, thanks to the heat management integrated into the chassis plate, airflow can be kept at a minimum – with a bodyshell, that closes tight and keeps dust and debris away.
Just as you would expect by now, the rear skidplate doubles as a diffuser for improved aerodynamics and a rear bumper.

Sounds too good to believe in? Well, be assured, this is not only our vision – but it could be yours too!

Highlight features:
- V-shaped Carbon-Alloy composite chassis
- Lowest possible COG thanks to a sandwich-layer design
- Straight center-driveline for minimal wear
- Radically new diff bearing design for supreme smoothness and zero frictional heat.
- Quick and easy access to the complete drivetrain
- Perfect power transmission from pinion to tyres
- New, efficient ball type CVDs
- Bump-beating Eight Inch a-arms
- Uncompromising lightweight design; race ready at around 3kg
- Heat protection system for the motor
- Fully enclosed chassis
- Rear diffuser skidplate
- Snap-in battery tray

Pretty impressive. I think I may have just found my next buggy!

Work of art.... V V pretty

I wonder how much all that will cost?

If I had to guess I'd say $500-600? Robitronic vehicles have usually been pretty reasonably priced, but this definitely is a step up in materials and engineering, so the price will surely reflect that.

It's different to say the least.

I love anodized aluminum, so in my book this is pretty freaking awesome.

I wouldn't think you would need that big of shocks for something that looks pretty light.

I am not liking the shock ends just chilling in the open right in the front either. That never leads to good things for me at least. You can imagine how fast I snatched up a set of those shock guards for my Slash 4x4 off of the new Pede.

There are definitely design aspects to this vehicle that say "this is a vehicle for people extremely confident in their driving ability". Unfortunately I'm not one of those people, but damn, I sure would like to have this buggy!

based on a post on another forum, robitronic is saying they are targeting to release this at the end of 2011

What?! The end of 2011?!! Boo. By then my interest in the product has long been gone.

yeah, but, at least they are shooting to do this right.

I am wondering if this would make a good factory lightweight buggy setup to try. Looking at whats in the pics, you could probably go even lighter with a carbon fiber shock tower setup (assuming they beef up the towers as the stock ones just by the pics look thin), and if the plastics are good, could go with plastic carriers instead of the alloy.

After seeing what some guys are doing with other vehicles that are lightened up, I wonder if you could run a 550 sized motor and run the 2S lipos in Parallel. You could then go with lower mah lipos, say a 3200mah in parallel would give very nice runtime. And the weight savings would be a lot there.

Who sells robitronics in the USA?

If you planned to use 3200 mah cells in a 2s2p config why not go with a motor with half the kv, and run 4s1p of those same cells? The higher voltage will allow for thinner, lighter wire, you can run a lighter smaller esc and it will get better runtimes... Run a low kv 1509 or similar sized motor. Or are you thinking roar rules with the current crop of 550 sized junk 2 pole motors?

A light motor like the cc 1410 motor would be great, if the kv was a bit lower. A 2y wind on 4s would be perfect.

no prob, figured was just throwing that out there are that is what is being done. I agree though on the higher voltage stuff.