Go-anywhere ruggedness in a stylish, tough package!

The Hot Bodies Lightning GT10 Sport is a rough-and-ready off-road monster machine! At just the right size for back garden bashing, this 1/10^th scale 4WD monster truck is a fun and reliable all-around fun truck to drive hard and jump high! Although the Lightning GT10 Sport can easily handle off-road track conditions, it's meant to be a fun and enjoyable ‘run anywhere' nitro monster truck!

The Lightning GT10 Sport was designed from the ground up to be a fun, big-tyre truck that can run anywhere, all day long. To do this, HB designers gave it a tough 4WD shaft drivetrain just like racing rallycross buggies, dual oil-filled shocks on every corner, large all-terrain tyres and a sturdy 3.0 size Power Factory engine for massive power!

Chassis

To give the Lightning GT10 Sport the best start possible, we've put all the components of this amazing and fun truck on a high tech 7075 T6 aluminium chassis that is 3mm thick. We wanted to make sure it would withstand the sorts of punishment any monster truck owner will throw at it!

To keep things nice and stiff, the sides of the main chassis are upturned and thick plastic chassis supports front and rear provide extra front-to-rear stiffness. A low profile aluminium radio tray holds the steering and throttle servos in place, and provide extra lateral stiffness. Keeping the chassis stiff ensures that the suspension is allowed to do its job properly!

Drivetrain

Driving the Lightning GT10 Sport is a 4WD shaft drivetrain taken from the US National Champion Lightning 1/8^th scale rallycross buggy! Using a shaft drivetrain is the only option when the truck is expected to be used in mud, sand, rocky and wet conditions. Shaft drive is tough, provides the best lifetime for all components and is easy to maintain.

A strong plastic 54-tooth spur gear takes the power from the engine and transmits it front and rear through an adjustable dual pad slipper clutch. A dual pad slipper provides more protection to the drivetrain than a standard single pad design, and we've included it as standard to make sure you get the best out of the Lightning GT10 Sport.

The centre dogbones drive the front and rear bevel differentials, which use 4 internal gears for increased durability and lifetime over standard 2-gear diffs. Tough steel outdrives turn steel outdrives and axles, and 14mm hex adapters spin the cool chrome wheels wrapped with all-terrain tractor tread rubber tyres.

To stop the Lightning GT10 Sport, a single drilled steel disc brake is used for extreme stopping power. Brake pads shod with material used in full-size trucks clamp down when the brakes are applied, bringing this beast to a quick yet controllable stop! All the brake linkage is fully adjustable, but you can leave it as set from the factory or it can be adjusted for prime operation on any surface.

For extra efficiency, all the components of the drivetrain, from the spur gear to the wheel axles, spin on rubber-sealed ball bearings. With these bearings you get long runtimes and long engine life while the rubber seals keep out dust and grime!

Engine

Powering the Lightning GT10 Sport is a Power Factory legend, the unstoppable 3.0 engine with pullstarter! This strong performer provide loads of power and torque, is easy to adjust, a breeze to maintain and features a convenient pullstarter for easy and quick starting.

The Power Factory 3.0 uses a plastic slide carburettor for consistent settings at all temperatures and quick response in any conditions. With 2 adjustment needles it's simple to tune and simple to maintain. An accordion style rubber boot protects the internal mechanism from dust and mud. To protect the engine from power-robbing dirt, a dual foam air filter is fitted to the carb.

Protecting the engine from excess heat build-up is the large heatsink head and extra cooling fins on the engine case. Both are made from aluminium, which dissipates heat quickly and effectively. The black coating on the case and the dark silver head look great together, showing the Power Factory 3.0 has a bit of style to go with all that power!

The internals of the engine are made from the industry standard ABC components: aluminium piston with a brass sleeve or cylinder, which is chrome-plated for extra durability.

Getting things going, the Power Factory 3.0 uses a tough pullstarter for bringing the engine to life. Just prime the engine with fuel, attach a glow plug igniter, give a couple of short tugs on the starter cord and you're off! If you want to use a starter box, that's easy too: just line up the engine flywheel with the starter wheel and away you go.

As the engine breathes into life, you'll hear the distinctive rumble of the exhaust at it comes out of the bent tube manifold and into the aluminium tuned pipe. These two pieces of engineering brilliance combine to give the Power Factory 3.0 engine a massive boost in power at low and high RPM, giving you roost-inducing torque and lightning high speeds!

Once you're running, a 2-piece racing clutch is used to engage the clutchbell and spin the 54-tooth spur gear. Why use a proven racing design on a fun monster truck? Because it's stronger and more durable than conventional designs!

The engine is mounted to the 3mm chassis using a mounting system taken from modern off-road racing RC kits - a wide hex screw keeps the mount in place on the chassis, and the mounts are bolted to the engine.

Keeping the engine fuelled is a prime concern, too, so we didn't neglect to add our best 75cc fuel tank. With thick translucent walls, strong o-ring sealed spring-loaded cap, and a ‘stone' type filter, you've got one of the best fuel tanks on the market mounted in the Lightning GT10 Sport!

With nitro-powered trucks there's no stopping to recharge batteries; as long as the truck's receiver pack and transmitter batteries have good charge, you can just keep refilling the fuel tank and go out for more fun!

Suspension and Steering

The Lightning GT10 Sport uses a tough suspension design derived from the massively popular Lightning Stadium racing truck, but with a few extra bits for increased durability! Long suspension arms are damped by 2 shock absorbers each, and the rugged design adds to the overall character of the truck.

Taking a page from the Lightning Stadium's design, the Lightning GT10 Sport