I think you get to the point where design is normaly then a remush of whats been before. I think that the 2wd platform has honed itself pretty much fine and anything BUT a complete step away from the current design would make it substantialy different.
Most designs are mainly adressing specific problems or handling traits, or change in trends.
With 4wd you have much more scope to play with the chassis design, and a far greater choice of transmission styles. When you have been racing long enough, designs soon start to come round like the seasons. the XXX4 design was seen in the 80's on PB's, the new Yoke on the old Cat, the Kyosho on the Academy. What made the Pred different was the way it transfered the direction of rotation through an axis compared to the likes of the Tamiya which used a transfer box. Unfortunately at the time, either the materials or the stumbling on the right design never cam about for TTech but now there are more shaft drives than you can shake a BIG stick at.
I reckon the biggest advances recently have been in modular design and accesibility of components and tunning. The next big step will be to make these cars accept the power that will be coming in the next couple of years.
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