BEHIND THE WHEEL

The Hoonicorn replica body that sits on top of the chassis is the star of the show, and I spent a lot of time checking it out before I did my testing. I am impressed with what HPI did to make this Lexan body come to life, and my favorite part is that impressive scoop that’s sticking up high above the hood. I plugged in the battery and placed the Hoonicorn on the polished floor in my garage and mashed the throttle. The tires spun as expected, letting me do a little drifting in and around objects, which is a blast. The tires have a lot of grip, so they aren’t ideal for drifting, but on the smooth concrete, they gave the car enough slip to give me a taste of it when I want to. I blasted out of the garage and onto my driveway, and I was impressed with the RS4 Sport 3’s acceleration and top speed out of the box. The included 15-turn motor moves the car along faster than I was expecting. And acceleration and top speed will increase a little more as the motor breaks in and the battery gets a few charge and discharge cycles on it. HPI spec’d a high-torque servo for this version of the RS4 Sport 3, and it showed when trying to maneuver around my driveway; steering response was quick, and the tires moved with authority. After some hot laps in the driveway, I took my Hoonicorn over to a large parking lot where I could let it stretch its legs and show me what it really has to offer. Again, the car impressed me with its acceleration out of the hole, thanks to that shaft drive. It doesn’t “feel” as fast when you have lots of room to move around, but the car reaches its top speed fairly quickly, and there’s a cool whirl coming from it as you scoot along. In the larger area, an issue with the steering came to light. I wasn’t able to get the car to track straight no matter how many times I adjusted the trim on the radio. I tightened up the servo saver, and that was all that was needed to solve the problem, making me appreciate the easy access of the adjustable servo saver. On a debris-covered surface like a public parking lot, it’s a good thing that the drivetrain is sealed—but the steering isn’t, so pebbles made their way into the steering system and bound it up from time to time, which is a bit annoying. This isn’t a big deal when bashing because you tip it upside down to get the pebbles out.