In late 1993 a car appeared on the UK scene that was unlike anything seen before. The YZ10, Bosscat and Lazer looked a bit flabby around the edges compared to the newcomer. Brain-child of designer Richard Wetherly, the Predator lined up with the competition like a Ferrari next to an Austin Princess, or a MacBook Air taking on a Commodore PET (sorry kids – I’m showing my age there). Like all thoroughbred racers the car did have faults. The carbon tub chassis on the early cars was (and still is) a piece of art, but it had a habit of stripping out the screws holding the front end. The original wishbones were fragile in a crash and the transmission needed to be shimmed exactly right or the gears ate one another (lack of a slipper compounding this). It was not a car for the faint hearted.
The next 10 years saw 8 improving evolution models released under the original brand name of Tenth-Technology (and latterly T-Tech), culminating with the release of the Predator X10 in 2005 (link to review). In 2006 the brand was taken over by Lewis Dickinson and became Team-Xtreme, part of Xtreme-RC. In summer 2007 we saw the first prototype X11’s, in the hands of Tom Yardy & Graham North. Xtreme have since been working very hard to develop the car, and to get it to production release. Their version of Predator, the X11, promises to be the best of the line so far. The legend lives on………
The first impression you’ll get of the X11 is the box the kit is in. Unlike a conventional cardboard box that a cheaper mass produced kit comes packaged in, it’s all in a rather nice transparent plastic case. There has been some talk of this being a gimmick and to some extent that may be true but it’s all a plus to the new owner.
Stu gets a smell of the new kit
The truth of the matter is that while the unit cost of the case is higher than a printed cardboard box, it need not be sourced in production runs of thousands, for an exclusive kit like the X11 that’s important. The case smells nice, the way new plastic things do. First impression of the manual is also good, full colour photographs to guide you through the conventional bag-by-bag build. The manual also smells very nice.
Bag 1 – Chassis
Bag 2 – Wishbones, hinge pins & retainers.
Bag 3 – Diff’s
Bag 4 – Rear Shock tower
Bag 5 – Gearbox tops & motor clamp
Bag 6 – Steering assembly
Bag 7 – Front suspension parts
Bag 8 – Hubs
Bag 9 – Driveshafts
Bag 10 – Rear suspension parts
Bag 11 – Shocks
Bag 12 – Shock, servo & cell mounts
Lewis Dickinson from Team Xtreme throws out a lifeline in the shape of a brand new X11 to Stu Evans, to help him back to his feet after a nasty fall under the wheels of the Team Xtreme van.
Above - Graham 'Northy' North from NORTECH is a long time Predator racer - recently returned to the X11 and helped with this review, putting his vast Predator experience to good use to help Stu.
