The new M18T Pro is the latest and greatest 1/18th scale truck offering from Slovakian manufacturer Xray - and it's designed exclusively for competition this time!  Xray is a company I've never had the opportunity to experience first hand before - their ever increasing line of vehicles appealed since first setting eyes on the original 'Xray T1" touring car.  That car was a revelation, never before had I - or possibly anyone for that matter, seen such a (and I'm using Xrays own word here) luxurious car. And luxurious it was - carbon fibre, aluminium, quality mouldings - it just looked the business.

Moving forward to 2008 and after completing a couple of rounds of the BRCA UK Micro National series - I start looking around for a slightly more competitive (read 'Four Wheel Drive') car. The accepted few dominating cars don't appeal for one reason or another - sure they are good but I wanted something different.  By pure chance I noticed the new Xray M18T Pro had just been born, so I set some time aside to learn more. 

Now - it's true I'd heard some negatives about the old M18T, so I was quite sceptical as to what Xray could really do to the car - would the 'PRO' be a mere collection of cheap 'bling' parts that added naught but weight and price?  I was, I confess, instantly impressed by the thorough write-up by Juraj Hudy, the brainchild behind Xray & of course HUDY.  Now talking up a car is one thing, but Juraj went through a step-by-step of exactly how they improved the car - stopping short of pointing out the flaws in the previous car, but giving an impressive account of just why the new one is improved.

Probably the biggest change is an additional 16mm length in the dual-deck carbon fibre chassis  - that would be a big change in any car, but one of this size it's nothing short of huge (and goes to show just how short the original car was).  The extra length should in theory give the car added stability and make it easier to race - fast.
Whilst the original car sported plastic drive shafts to all four wheels - the M18T Pro features universal shafts made from the renown Hudy spring steel, which should handle any power you could possibly strap into the little car.

The kit is tightly packed inside the box, most of the contents neatly arranged inside the body shell - once taken out it's a bit of a jigsaw trying to get it all back in there.  The M18T Pro comes with various paperwork - a manual of course is supplied, but it's for the original M18T, not the 'Pro'.  Instead of a brand new manual the M18T Pro comes with a supplementary sheet with some of the differences pointed out at each relevant stage of the build.