Breaking News – Kyosho Optima 2016
Kyosho America officially announced today the next in their line up of rereleases today, the Kyosho Turbo Scorpion 2016. The Scorpion first kicked off Kyosho’s entry into the modern vintage scene back in 2014 with the original Scorpion followed by the Tomahawk and Beetle and as it did with the original seven iterations in the Scorpion lineup, the Turbo may mark the final rereleased edition built on this platform. Famous for small edits and revisions to their buggies, Kyosho slowly evolved the Scorpion over seven generations and while there were two versions called “Turbo” the 2016 will best represent the spirit of the final buggy to hit hobby shops back in 1986… a more race-ready addition to their rere lineup.
Being replaced soon after but the all new Ultima, the Turbo Scorpion marked the end of the line for the Scorpion. By 1985, the Scorpion was in its best days of racing. With a ROAR National title under it’s belt and a total of 7 edits and overhauls, the Turbo Scorpion represent the pinnacle version with better (for their time) tires, updated wheels, body, roll cage and wing setup from various other cars in Kyosho’s line up; think of it as the version the pros were building out of their parts bins to take to the track. With that said, here’s a look at the lineage of the Scorpion through its “generations”… really small style edits and various improvements, and finally coming to land on the Turbo.
The Turbo Scorpion 2016 isn’t so much a true rerelease as was the case with the Scorpion, Tomahawk and Beetle but more of a modern vintage race-ready edition to the lineup; one that you can take to the track and run more competitively out of the box in a vintage class. It will feature your choice of a belt drive should you want to race it or a chain drive if you’re more of a purist. It will also be trimmed with big bore shocks that are anodized to look like the originals but handle much better. The transmission will be fitted with 48 pitch gears and a slipper clutch and the entire kit will include hex screws to make the 2016 edition more user friendly and help it handle better by including features that were aftermarket hopups in 1986.
SPECS
Length: 15.6in. (395mm)
Width: 9.4in. (240mm)
Height: 4.7in. (120mm)
Ground Clearance: 1.4in. (36mm)
Wheelbase: 10.2in. (260mm)
Tread: 8in. (204mm)
Tire: 3.4in. x 1.6in. (86mm x 40mm)
Gear Ratio: 9.24:1
Weight: 3.53lbs. (1,600g)
Price: $300
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT
2-channel R/C system (servo x 1, ESC x 1)
540 Size Motor
7.2V NiMH battery or 7.4V Li-PO battery
Charger
Batteries for transmitter
Tools (phillips head screw driver large, small. Needle Nose Pliers, Scissors, Sharp Hobby Knife)
