Team Associated SC10 4x4!

0 Jan. 28, 2011, 10:17 a.m.

Los Angeles – The secret is out. Team Associated's newestvehicle has been shown to the world.

A new vehicle from Associated's 'Area 51' had been rumoredfor quite a while now. Recently, the company had shown teasers on its websiteleading hobbyists to believe a release was imminent.

Rumors swirled of a 4x4 version of Team Associated's popularSC10 Short Course truck amid the release of Losi's 4WD SCT and the risingpopularity of the 4WD SCT class in general. Last week, a banner on the RC10.comhomepage featured a silhouette of what looked to be a short course-type vehicleof undetermined scale and propulsion. Needless to say, Internet chatterexploded.

On Jan. 28, shortly after pictures and video of the newvehicle leaked to the Internet early, Team Associated officially announced the 'SC10 4x4' – an all-new four-wheel drive, 1/10th scale, electricpowered 'Short Course' truck.

The truck arrives on the scene at a time when Short Course racing popularity isbuilding up at a feverish pace. Presumably, the scale look and feel of Short Course trucks draw inpeople from outside the hobby due to their familiarity with SCT's full-scalecounterparts. (let’s face it, these days most electric off-road classesrepresent nothing that actually exists at full-scale)

Associated's SC10 has already injected a large dose ofpopularity into the newly created segment of R/C racing. We are already seeingthe Short Course class blur boundaries between R/C racing culture andmainstream visibility. Time will tell if their 4WD offering will continue tobuild on this momentum. If it does, the hobby could see a lot of new participantsin the coming years.

Anyways, back to the vehicle. LiveRC.com was privilegedto a behind-closed-doors test-drive of the SC10 4x4 recently. Our crew was on hand to shoot and producethe official product release video for the project, and got a chance to drivethe truck a bit as well. Let us assure you, and it is awesome. Make sure to check back with LiveRC in the coming weeks for plenty of exclusive coverage of the SC10 4x4.

Here are the official list of the important features:

Unique dual gearbox drive train coupled together with a 5mm heavy duty belt system with external tension adjustment
32 pitch front and rear gearboxes with sealed fluid filled differentials
Decoupled center slipper clutch allows for front and rear wheel drive to slip independently, resulting in more traction and stability on bumpy track conditions
CVAs with captured drive pins and heavy duty 6mm alloy axles
12mm hex drive KMC® replica wheels front and rear with aggressive short course racing tires
Championship short course racing body (clear), with Team Associated decal sheet
13mm blue aluminum big-bore threaded shocks with low friction X-ring seals
Composite modular tub chassis with Low-CG and Low Polar Moment design
Enclosed water-resistant receiver box, and removable ESC tray for easy clean up and maintenance
Ball bearing steering system with adjustable steering stops
All metric hardware and ball bearings throughout
Uses most 540 and 550 brushless motors