The
Schumacher CAT has been around for a long time. The CAT XLS was a
4WD buggy introduced in 1986 which won a world title in 1987 driven by
Masami Hirosaka. This is a rerelease of that iconic car.
This is a 1/10 scale 4WD buggy with fiberglass chassis plates, belt
drive, and four wheel double wishbone suspension. Camber and toe
are adjustable with turnbuckles. Schumacher invented the ball
differential in 1978, and this buggy uses four of them. If this
sounds strange, it is. Read my build page to find out what they
are all used for. This model also has some of the most beautifully
machined aluminum shocks I have ever seen.Even though this is a vintage replica, the design has been updated to support brushless systems and Li-Po power. I installed a 17.5T Hobbywing sensored motor powered by a 2s shorty pack.
I finished the model, as close as I could, to box art style. 17.5T is not a very hot brushless motor, so I'm not sure it is any faster than a reasonable brushed motor but it is very quiet and quick. The spiked tires are quite hard so it slides and understeers a lot on pavement, but corners very well on gravel or grass. It also jumps completely flat making it look easy. I really like to drive this model, but it also looks great on my shelf next to other vintage 4WD buggies like the Tamiya Avante and the Kyosho Javelin.
Schumacher offers a wide range of high priced upgrades for this model, most importantly a racing transmission which costs almost as much as the kit. So far I have resisted and my copy is box stock.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
 Page 1: Assembly |
 Page 2: Final Photos |