Are we getting ready for a TRF420?

As we had been commenting on before, it looks like the rumours are right and there will be no updated TRF419 this year. The recent cycle has been to release a car at the start of November ready for the new season, and we are well past that release window now.

Personally I think it is a good thing. The worlds are next year and Tamiya's main goal is to provide their talented drivers with a car that can really make an impact.

There have been rumours of a single belt car, super low profile (This seems more likely as Yokomo have also recently done this) and also an asymmetrical car with the motor moved more closer to the centre and then the rumoured tub TRF car (Although that could be a TA07?)

Of course no-one knows yet, and realistically most times we get excited about a new car it can always disappoint as it will never be as outlandish as the cars that we imagine (Remember how disappointed people got with the actual HPI Pro5 after the hype, despite being a good car, the early announcements sold it as being a game changer.)

What we do know however is that Tamiya has strengthened it's native Japanese driver line up with Akio Sobue and the reigning champion Naoto Matsukura. This is a very good thing as most of the R&D of the TRF cars happens in Japan. With the introduction of these two top level Japanese based drivers to the strong current design and racing team it will ensure that they will get top level driver feedback much more frequently when developing the new car, as someone in product design myself I think this is going to really help accelerate development.

Tamiya has innovated before in this field, and they have a fantastic pedigree, so let's see what 2016 has in store.

In the meantime, I will be experimenting with new mods for my TRF419 Such as the low profile towers here, whilst saving up for the new car.