Bittydesign Hyper 1/10 bodyshell review

The Hyper is Bittydesign's competitor in the new era of high downforce bodies. As you would expect with the Italian bodyshell gurus, they have taken their time developing this shell and didn't make a cheap copy.

So how does it compare? Let's take a look

So what is in the box?

The shell itself comes with a set of shell decals (Headlights etc), a separate Bittydesign sticker set and window masks.

Closer look

The hyper has a large front splitter with a low grill. Here you can see the small winglets moulded into the shell.

The bonnet is low, and it raises to the wheel arches. Here you can also see the curved roof section and deep A-Pillars that continue all over the roof

When it comes to mounting the body, the bonnet is smooth so it is easy to drill holes.  Bittydesign have also added a pair of faint lines that are spaced to represent most TC front post widths, these make it even easier to mount.

The forward positioned cabin provides a lot of steering and you can see the roof has a very similar profile to the other high downforce shells out there.

The deep pillars smooth out as the rear of the cabin narrows dramatically. This leads to the vortex generators near the rear wing and the two rear horns to help guide the air to ensure the wing is able to be as effective as possible.

The rear has a large cut-out to help reduce drag and the two rear pillars provide a strong mount for the wing. These also help reduce the likelihood of the shell tucking in on a collision.

The Hyper is also quite short in length compared to some of the high downforce shells, it is very close to the DBX but approx 3mm shorter.

The shell (Std lightweight 0.7mm) weighs in at 88g with everything mounted, painted and decals applied.

As you would expect this shell has a lot of nice details in the mould. Bittydesign have always made good looking shells and I think the Hyper is no exception.

The grill, air intakes etc are superb details, and they ensure the Hyper is a very attractive shell. This is helped by the excellent paint job by Jay at 5.0 paint.

At the track

I mounted the shell in the neutral position. I always do this when trying a new body so I easily compare it to other shells. (You can always move it forward 2mm with the TRF420 bodymount system).

I have now used the Hyper at a variety of different tracks, most you would class as small or mid sized (largest being the excellent MB raceway). On each of these tracks the Hyper has provided me with an excellent balance of front and rear grip.

The low front ensures that you are able to command a solid steering response into the corner, it doesn't matter if its a quick S-curve or at the end of the high speed sweeper it always feels responsive.

The back end also is very planted, even on the tighter sections of the track you do feel assured that the rear will be consistent. I like to tune my car to rotate a lot on the corners, so even when I try to break grip for a tight apex, the rear steps out in a very linear and easy to manage way.

Running it side by side with the DBX it is very similar in handling response. I would say the DBX has slightly more steering with the Hyper exhibiting more rear grip.

Lap times are quite inconclusive, as I would swap from one shell to the other and sometimes be fractionally quicker with the Hyper or vice versa. These fractional differences could be down to track evolution, tyre prep, set-up tweaks etc. Importantly this means that Bittydesign have created a good option for anyone that wants to perform well at the track.

Overall

The Bittydesign Hyper is another high quality shell from the Italian specialists. It combines their sense of style and refined handling, blending it with the new high downforce, low centre of gravity shells to create a great new body that will appeal to many racers.