Ever since Traxxas boldly put “50mph” on the Nitro 4-Tec’s box back in 2004, the company has proven time and again that “The Fastest Name In Radio Control” is not a tagline so much as a mission statement. Since that 50mph milestone, Traxxas has steadily advanced the speedometer needle with ever-faster vehicles, peaking with the Bandit VXL and TRX 3.3-powered version of the original Nitro 4-Tec, both good for 70+mph. Now that speed ceiling has been shattered—and not by just a little. The new Traxxas XO-1 is unequivocally the world’s fastest ready-to-run RC car, capable of more than 100mph out of the box. Literally an RC supercar, the XO-1 is like no other RC vehicle before it, and its performance is just the beginning of its innovation. A new 2.4GHz transmitter complete with telemetry is also part of the package, and it’s just as ground-breaking as the XO-1 itself—more on that to come. Let’s take a closer look at the highest-performance RC car you can buy.
Let’s Drive it!
My first experience with the XO-1 was with the Traxxas boys at Texas Motor Speedway during their video and photo shoot. I made my way to the track where I was greeted by the guys and once we said our hellos, they asked me if I was ready, and I excitedly answered, “Yes!” I focused my attention to turn 1 and out from behind the wall was the XO-1 building up speed and making its way by me at a mind-blowing 100mph. I truly could not believe what I was seeing. As the car made passes back and forth against the wall of the track, I noticed the sound. It was like no other car I have ever driven; it sounded like some kind of alien spacecraft. After the photos and videos were completed, I was given the radio to make a few passes myself. I have driven cars at speeds up to 80mph before, but that’s nothing compared to a 100mph. So I was a little nervous about running the car—especially when I heard that it was one of only a few production pieces that Traxxas had at that time so crashing this car wouldn’t be a good idea. I grabbed the radio and went for it as all the eyes of the Traxxas guys were upon me. With the car along the wall of turn 1, I applied full throttle and well … spun it out. I regrouped and lined the car back up and this time I made good use of the NASCAR track and rolled on the throttle and when I reached about half-throttle, I pegged it and my smile grew as I made my own 100mph pass. At speed, the XO-1 is very stable and tracked straight; it was effortless to drive. I stayed in the throttle as long as I could before hitting the brakes as it quickly opened up a gap between me and the car. I nailed the brake and it took some time to get the XO-1 to slow down. The guys did tell me that the cars hitting the hobby shop shelves will have the brakes turned up a bit more to get it slowed down in a much shorter distance. With that pass out of the way, I lined up and made a few more. Again, the car was consistently fast and stable.
Read the full review in the February issue of RC Car Action
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