The exhaust pipe is of the plastic muffler-type, which is a shame when they’ve gone to so much trouble in getting more power from the engine and it therefore could performed far better with a decent tuned pipe on it. Which leads me to summarise that yes, it’s had a fair few bits of improvement from the many Savages of days gone by, but it still needs a few additional finishing touches for me. Left in the box as an extra option is the nylon roll cage, which will add protection to the engine head when it lands upside down, but you will need to trim a little off the shell in order for it to fit back on. However, there is already an imprinted outline to help so you don’t just have to guess how much to cut away. Rounding off the equipment in the box that completes the RTR kit is the pistol grip TF-3 digital proportional transmitter and a roto-start2 starter system with its inbuilt engine saver mechanism, popping out in a similar way to a trip fuse should the engine become flooded, thus saving the engine internals from too much stress. There’s also a sealed bag with a metal cone in it that slots inside the exhaust muffler, apparently quietening the tone down somewhat should you deem your Savage a little too thunderous, most likely at the expense of some performance too, plus another bag with some 14mm hexes in case you have some other monster wheels you want to utilise.

TESTING
As a treat for my 1:8 scale big block basher truck - and because I’ve had it lying around for long enough - I installed a Vertigo Performance carbon fuel tank protector, mainly because I broke my last tank when a shock popped and cracked straight through the rear of it spilling fuel everywhere, so any extra protection is more than welcome as I strongly believe this truck is in for a hard life. I then installed a six volt hump pack battery, filled the tank with 25% Blue Thunder fuel and adjusted the brakes, and it was time to get it started. With the F4.6 engine having this roto start2 compared to the SS version’s pull start K4.6, it was a breeze to start, and in just a few seconds of spinning in its back passage it fired up and happily sat there drinking a tank’s worth of fuel. Two further tanks of trotting about at half throttle were needed before some tuning took place and it was ready to hit the track. Being an out and out basher truck it should find the MaxBashing racetrack the ideal training ground for when I next visit the Bear Pit, which has far harsher terrain. And it will love it there because I could already feel the extra torque coming from the F4.6 as it was pootling about on the run in!

HARDER TESTING
HPI’s claim that this is the most powerful Savage seems about right to me, as when I’d warmed it up and sat it down on the track, I slammed on the throttle and watched it give a little ‘snake hips’ action and then tear off in as straight a line as it could muster with all four wheels spinning crazily underneath. It was a great show of power, but then again this also tells me that the tyres have absolutely no grip on grass! It mattered not however, it was gaining enough grip on the run up to the jumps where it cleared them by a long way, flying majestically through the air till it slumped to the ground, padded by all four wheels and its eight shocks. There were a couple of times when it didn’t go quite right, and several jumps resulted in crunching front end landings and a few more were even nastier as it thumped down on its roof, my story here is that I was testing the front bumper and the roll cage to see if they were doing their jobs… and I’m sticking to that too.

However, HPI’s claim that this is the toughest RTR Savage soon dwindled when an upper suspension arm snapped like a twig after a relatively tame leap from a small jump - it even landed on all four wheels and drove for a few more feet before it became apparent that there was a problem. Having beaten numerous Savages senseless in the past I was more than a little shocked as to how this one surrendered quicker than a French soldier, it was in fact so unnatural, that I’m sure there must’ve been an error of some sort in this particular arm’s manufacture. Thankfully though, you don’t have to look too far to find Savage spares, and it was soon back in working order. On its fifth tank of fuel the engine was distinctly loosening up now and making great power with HPI rightly claiming that the F4.6 has masses of torque and will indeed make the X rear up from a standing start. This also means that it won’t need such a long run up to a jump and it will eagerly launch upwards for some air time, which is what a basher truck is all about, isn’t it? The long throw shocks will pretty much always absorb the landings (when it lands on its wheels) and the larger diameter tyres make it easy to show off centrifugal forces with an effortlessly performed back flip when required.

MAN OR MOUSE?
Well, it’s neither man nor mouse; it’s a ripping, scowling, snarling beast…(this reminds me, my ex-wife is coming round today). It does still require some bearings in the steering column, the infamous throttle modification to get a crisper response to the throttle and to strengthen up the pull on the brakes, the C-hubs can be shaved with a Dremmel to increase the turning circle and although the servos do their job adequately, there’s still a huge difference between them and what would be called ‘good’ servos. That said however, and if I ignore the fact that an upper suspension arm was as brittle as a Hula Hoop, it was otherwise faultless. It is, and will continue to be, a great bashing truck. I would recommend the purchase of a wheelie bar because even though it thinks it’s a Wheelie King, it isn’t, yet it does share its love of popping the front end in the air on a regular basis through sheer amount of grunt produced from the engine. Superman will be safe for a while, because Chuck Norris will be busy for a some time yet, out playing with his Savage 4.6 RTR!

Distributed in the UK by Horizon Hobby UK