…and its closer to release than you may think.

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The Team Durango DNX408 has a revolutionary radio tray which spy shots can’t show properly, so here are the first offical pictures. The radio tray in set into the chassis for lowest centre of gravity, with only five screws holding it in place, it’s easy to slide the whole assembly out of the side of the car.

- Both servos are laid down and sit below the surface of the chassis again for lowest CofG
- The RX battery is also sunk in the chassis for lowest CofG and is centrally mounted at the rear of the car.
- The receiver itself is the only thing that sits high in the car, above the throttle servo.
- The RX box is fitted louver type vents to keep the receiver cool in the hottest conditions and there is a removable cover to seal it up again when there’s water about

Is low centre of gravity and narrow chassis that important on a buggy??? – You bet it is.
Ever caught a rut mid corner and got into barrel roll, ever landed out of line and got into a tank slapper – the chances of getting into problems are minimised when the car is lower and narrower, it just can’t get out of shape as easily. So that means you can push it harder without it biting back, you can get away with more, you won’t have to pay for every mistake; at the end of a 40min race you will be closer to the front.

Seen here are some sneak-preview pictures of the DEX210 driven by Hupo at the Yatabe International event (5-7 March, 2010).  The car continues to undergo development, but early tests are very promising.

We will bring you more news and pictures soon.

The DEX408 has the lowest bodyshell around – this has many benefits, like low centre of gravity, minimal frontal area to punch through the air (perhaps giving more run time or speed?) more air flow over the rear wing etc (so that too can be lower), but it also helps with heat management. The engine head in a DNX408 gets the most direct clean airflow of any car, plus the body is designed to direct as much air as possible over the bodyshell at the engine head, rather than through the body. The central engine and low bodyshell mean that all shock bodies are also in clean airflow.  The DNX408s body is long and slim at the rear which encloses the exhaust header and insulates the left rear shock, while it is trimmed to help direct/suck hot air away from either rear shock.

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Rear wing – it is as close to the rear wheels as possible, thanks to the forward shock position, this drives the down-force directly to the rear wheels. Too many wings on 1/8 buggies are way out back which means more wheelies than down-force.

So far for the DNX408 we have featured photos of the narrow 5mm chassis, the brakes, the leaned back steering, the spec and the price; we’ve also shown the rear suspension detail and the standard memory engine mount.

We have shown CAD based sneak peeks of the bodyshell and talked about its heat management design, we have also mentioned the chassis mounted radio tray and the car’s light weight. That’s lots of cool revolutionary stuff for a very fair price.
Well until we have more exciting photos to show you, like the body and radio tray etc, (which will take a while now) we thought we would reveal the front suspension and the ‘face’ of the DNX408.

By Durango standards the front suspension is pretty standard stuff, we can’t innovate every area of the car – so it’s solid, light weight, with a clean, no-risk design. The face of the DNX408, just like the body and wing, will be easily recognisable on the track.

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The front end features all the necessary adjustments, plus hard anodised suspension holders, hard anodised bulkheads, 5mm hard anodised shock towers, outdrive and CVD boots and the 15mm bore PTFE coated shocks. Team Durango style down-stops keep the front of the chassis nice and narrow for best front ground clearance. When it comes to taking the gearbox and centre drive shaft out it should only take about six screws.

So, not too exciting today, but now there is a face to the DNX408 name.

The DNX408 rear-end design is all about low weight, keeping weight forward, putting the wing over the rear wheels and giving the most ground clearance.

The 408 will probably be the lightest car on the market, this is thanks to many design considerations, but it is easy to see the thinking on the rear-end of the car; minimalistic gearbox case, slender but tough bulkheads and the smallest rear overhang of any car.

We wanted the shocks of the DNX408 to be ahead of the axle, for better weight distribution, better wheel control over bumps/landings and for better protection when the going gets tough; the benefits are just too big to ignore.

However, one possible down side of this forward shock layout is heat soak from the exhaust header on the left rear shock, so we set about removing this problem. Firstly our tests showed that the effect is minimal, but something worth fixing and here is how we did it. After many handmade test cars, we settled on an engine forward position for the best possible weight distribution, it is also only 1mm off being the most centrally mounted engine of the cars on the market today.  So, our engine and its exhaust header are the furthest forward and the most in-board of any current car, taking it well away from the left rear shock.
Problem solved! …well pretty much, but we carried on.

The DEX408 has the lowest bodyshell around – this has many benefits, like low centre of gravity, minimal frontal area to punch through the air (perhaps giving more run time or speed?) more air flow over the rear wing etc (so that too can be lower), but it also helps with heat management. The engine head in a DNX408 gets the most direct clean airflow of any car, plus the body is designed to direct as much air as possible over the bodyshell at the engine head, rather than through the body. The central engine and low bodyshell mean that all shock bodies are also in clean airflow.  The DNX408s body is long and slim at the rear which encloses the exhaust header and insulates the left rear shock, while it is trimmed to help direct/suck hot air away from either rear shock. Still worried? …then foil tape will be available for inside the body.

Anyway, back to the rear suspension; well it has all the necessary toe-in, squat, top-link and shock position adjustments as standard. It has outdrive and CVD boots to minimise debris problems in the race and minimise maintenance between them. We also fitted shock guards to the suspension arms, which are probably also useful at helping rear grip on slippy tracks, you choose; either way the shocks are kept in good order by super flexi & durable shock boots.

Rear wing – it is as close to the rear wheels as possible, thanks to the forward shock position, this drives the down-force directly to the rear wheels. Too many wings on 1/8 buggies are way out back which means more wheelies than down-force and heavy supports to stop it getting snapped off.

More tuning options; on the DNX408 it is easy to switch the rear arms around (shocks out back) to change weight bias and range of wheelbase adjustment. This feature gives the widest range of wheelbase adjustment of any car. We doubt you will need this feature, but no harm in keeping options open.

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Finally – The standard one piece engine mount on the DNX408 is another “what, that comes standard?!?” moment; precision and convenience says it all

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Some of the STANDARD features of the DNX408 only from Team Durango

• 5mm thick hard anodised chassis & one of the narrowest, if not the narrowest on the market
• Hard anodised alloy bulkheads front & rear (colour shown is pre-production; production will be hard anodised)
• Gearbox cases front & rear are moulded & separate from the load bearing bulkheads; this gives minimal flex, best bearing alignment, best dirt shielding & easy removal of whole diff & CVD, just like the DEX410
• 15mm bore alloy shocks, PTFE coated ultra smooth & threaded. Alloy caps, alloy cartridge bottom & polished shock shafts; shocks are everything, so these are quality throughout
• 5mm hard anodised shock towers front & rear, as standard
• Forward mounted engine (20mm further forward than some leading race buggies) this gives ideal weight distribution & room for everything to be mounted as low as possible. The RX pack goes under the rear CVD, which is another Team Durango first
• One piece CNC machined engine mount with gold anodised memory plate is standard in the kit & is designed for maximum engine performance & easy maintenance with a marked-up chassis for easier engine alignment
• Rear of the car has maximum ground clearance for smoothest landings so you can get the power down faster
• Radio tray is mounted into the chassis to get centre of gravity as low as possible, but still only 5 screws to slide it out for easy maintenance
• Lowest possible centre of gravity the servos and RX battery are laid down & mounted into the chassis. Engine & tank are also mounted as low as possible
• Top quality, hard anodised suspension holders as standard front & rear with full range of precision moulded inserts for geometry changes
• Angled down stop screws ensure maximum solidity & consistency, without adding weight
• Lightened transmission parts are used throughout as standard
• In board & out board CVD joints front & rear protected with rubber CVD boots
• Centre mounted fuel tank inlet for easy access in any pit lane, with dirt guard as standard
• Super low body to ensure maximum flow over the adjustable rear wing, while the rear wing sits low to again minimise CofG, while oversized end plates (ROAR legal) ensure stability & protect the engine head in crashes
• We have built & tested all the leading cars & our plastics fit, finish & durability is second to none & better than many
• Body, air filter, cultch, once piece CNC engine mount & wheels all included in the kit

The public buying price (street price) for this revolutionary & top quality car is US$699 or 457Euros or 417UK pounds (this price excluded local sales taxes).

Considering the spec of the car out-of-the-box; alloy suspension holders, alloy bulkheads, 5mm shock towers & 5mm chassis all hard anodised, plus black/gold alloy CNC engine mount, lightened transmission; this is a very fair price, something we have worked very hard on.

Check out some of the details of the pre-production car below….

The DNX408 CHASSIS is a work of art, 5mm of the finest aircraft alloy hard anodised & machined away to minimise weight, but also to give the DNX408 class-leading centre of gravity, with almost all the hardware sunk down into it. Minimal rear overhand means the smoothest of landings over a wider range of jumps

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Close ups of DNX408 BRAKE SYSTEM pioneered by Team Durango in its test mules. Super solid for the best action, feel, consistancy & durability

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Details of the STEERING, angled-up at the same angle as the kickup to remove bump steer, while the ackerman link moves under the CVD.

[View with PicLens]

More details over the coming days

Durango 2wd prototype breaks cover & will be raced at the “Petit” event in Kent this weekend.

The thinking behind the DEX210 is to be the first car where mid & rear motor mounting is possible from the same car, ensuring Durango owners can be sure to have the ideal layout whatever the track.

Private testing has already been carried out with various gearbox configurations & motor locations, but as always Durango like to test properly before finalising the design so off to the Petit race Gerd goes with his hand made car.

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D- Durango E- electric X - off road 2 - 2wd 10 - 10th scale