The Once Over…FTX Outrage

FTX are the reason I came back to RC Cars after being away from them since I was 16, I was bored at work one day and did some searching I soon found myself with a ‘fun’ car (that quickly got hopped up with all the bling) which was an FTX Roxster, A great car and I only recently sold it to make way for more toys!

So that was a little electric truck but what does this new FTX Outrage have to offer??
I will admit I had my reservations when I first saw the box after being a pit guy in rallycross for several years I have been surrounded by the cream of the crop top end 1:8 cars. But then I was brought back down to earth when I was told the retail price of this car which is aimed at the sub £200 bracket!

That’s amazing a huge 1:8 car for £200 so what have they left out?…Ummm nothing it seems!

This car has CVA driveshaft’s front and rear which are rarely seen on a ready to run car. This is normally saved for the hop up options. It soon hits you that this car has a few unique design features; the radio tray which is mounted towards the front of the vehicle houses the battery box and receiver separately and also incorporates a carry handle. The controller for this car is a standard steer wheel radio. The large fuel tank and engine sit side by side in the rear of the car which makes sure the weight is pretty evenly distributed side to side, but how will it handle out on the dirt? That will come in our full Thrash Test in Racer magazine at a later date.

The drive train is a full three differential affair with four bevel gears in each and driving that is a .21 pull-start engine which is fitted with a beautifully polished exhaust pipe. This is all attached to the chassis and unlike many cheap cars all the fixings are countersunk so you have a completely flat underside.

The chassis isn’t a full length chassis front to rear the front bulkhead is plastic this is presumably to give the car a chance in a crash, I have seen this sort of arrangement before on the HPI Firestorm. In a crash this part is designed to take the stresses a bit like a crumple zone on a Volvo saving you from a huge repair bill when you hand the controls over to little Johnny and the first thing he finds is the only kerb / lamppost / tree for miles…but with Individual front and rear brakes hitting things shouldn’t happen! And whilst we are talking about the front of the car it is fitted with anti roll bars at both the front and rear, this again is another item usually saved for the hop up list.

Now the rear end doesn’t have your usual wing mount stuck onto the rear shock tower it does however have a rear cage protecting the back end of the car, so when you’ve been ramping it and it comes down on its butt the rear diff housing cant smash into the deck, the cage will take the brunt of the force. The rear wing is then also mounted onto this.
The shock towers are an interesting design they look to clamp the shocks in place and are made of quite thick plastic so we will see how they fair in our full test. The car is fitted with 17mm hex drives for the wheels so there’s no need to worry about different wheel fitments standard rallycross wheels pop straight on.

Now I must admit I felt a little cheated after taking the buggy out of the box I found the sticker sheet which was pretty empty as most of the stickers had been pre applied to the body shell, still something less to worry about when you just want to go out and have fun.

Also to save on parts costs the Outrage shares lots of parts with the 1:10 FTX Rampage which is a really neat idea. But for now enjoy the pictures because I can assure you I plan to test this car fully!

The FTX Rampage comes complete with fibreglass brake discs on both the front and rear of the centre differential.

The Outrage has equal length shocks at all four corners. These are oil filled items with threaded plastic bodies to give ride height adjustment.

The Outrage has an unusual take on weight distribution. The engine is over the opposite side to he norm for a 1:8 off-roader for a start with the fuel tank towards the rear of the chassis.

For a sub-£200 RTR nitro buggy, the Outrage has a good spec. Turnbuckles are used for major linkages making setup changes easier and anti-roll bars are fitted at both ends of the car.

The tuned pipe is really nicely finished and should help the .21 engine achieve top performance. Notice the use of springs to join the main pipe to the manifold, a far more secure fixing method and something usually found on far more pricey cars.

The Outrage has CVD type driveshafts at all four corners, a great feature for the price.

Alloy steering uprights add strength in a critical area on the Outrage.

The supplied block pattern tyres have foam inserts and are pre-glued to the wheels. These should give good traction on a wide variety of surfaces.

The fixings on the underside are all countersunk to help stop the chassis snagging on the rough stuff.

The engines pull-start is easily accessible with the bodyshell in place. This is a good thing.

The Outrage complete with the supplied 27mHz pistol grip radio system.

 

FTX Outrage Specifications

• Length: 450mm
• Width: 295mm
• Height: 195mm
• Wheelbase: 330mm
• Engine: .21size – 3.5cc

FTX Outrage Features

• Ready-To-Run
• 2-channel radio installed
• 4WD drive system
• 21 size 3.5cc Pull Start engine
• Waterproof Dustproof Sealed Gearbox
• Fast access Receiver And Battery compartments
• 3 Differentials With Four Bevel Gears
• Blue Anodised Aluminium Chassis
• Adjustable Threaded Long Oil-Filled Shock Absorbers
• Roll bar/carry handle
• Front and rear CVA driveshafts
• Sealed Precision Ball races
• Pliable durable suspension mouldings
• Pre-painted bodyshell

For more information on the FTX Outrage CLICK HERE to be taken to UK distributor, CML Distribution’s website. Look out for our full Thrash Test review in Racer magazine soon…