The new Losi 8ight 2.0 EU is the result of many months of collaboration and development between the Losi engineers in California and the all-conquering Losi European Race Team.

Improving upon a car that took the Top Qualifying slot in it’s inaugural World Championship event is no easy task but the 8ight 2.0 EU achieves it by maintaining much of the proven race-winning design of the original 8ight 2.0 and adapting some of its features to make it more focused on the needs of the European racer and the specific nuances of the European race tracks.

European tracks are often characterized by having longer straights than their American counterparts and are sometimes, considerably bumpier and prone to carving throughout the day. The turns are also longer and more sweeping, often accompanied by very rapid direction change chicanes and the tracks tend to be more naturally undulating and be multi-surfaced – all of which place different, specific demands on the design of a race-car.

Longer straights and longer turns need different ratios to prevent the engine from over-revving and topping-out so the stock 13/48T gearing from the 8ight 2.0 has been swapped out in favour of a higher 13/46T ratio. A small change maybe but one that can be immediately felt if it’s not right once out on the track.
Higher Ratios and longer straights result in the car travelling much faster and so the Losi European Team worked carefully to tune some aspects of the 8ight 2.0’s suspension geometry so that it would feel totally planted and stable at these higher speeds. Increasing the front caster angle enables the 8ight 2.0 EU to maintain a tighter cornering line as you power out of the longer turns and aids straight line stability and even the bodyshell has been re-designed to now include a vertical fin that helps stabilize the car whilst at high speed or in flight.

Revised front and rear towers offer more tuning options than before, allowing the user to lay the shocks over further to improve high speed consistency into the turns and increasing mid corner traction. The rear tower also features revised camber link locations that are designed to make the 8ight 2.0 EU feel more consistent as the tracks carve and become rutted during the race meeting. The shock absorbers now feature vented caps that make them easier to fill and more consistent and they also have internal rebound compensators to help improve their big-hit performance without detrimentally affecting their small-bump suppleness.

1:8 off-road buggies have to be designed to take the punishment that hour-long final and countless bump-ups can dish out. The 8ight 2.0 EU builds even further on the awesome reputation of the Losi brand and features subtle details that only a racer would appreciate – such as the reverse threaded lower damper screws, designed to prevent the lower mount from loosening off during a race. The front spindles and carriers are now made from aluminium so that they can take the constant pounding and abuse of the bumps, jump landings and even the odd driver induced mistake.
The detail changes don’t stop there. The 8ight 2.0 EU kit includes new lower hinge pin pivots that now feature inserts to give adjustability to the toe angle, squat and pin height – giving you, the racer, even more ability to fine tune your car to the track conditions as they change throughout the meeting without the need to buy or carry a range of optional plates.

Once of the most immediately noticeable changes from the 8ight 2.0 though is when you first pick up the box and realize that it’s no longer pre-assembled. Feedback from the Losi racers, dealers and distributors have all confirmed that in Europe, Racers want to build up their race cars – filling the shocks with their choice of fluids, using their choice of threadlock and fitting their choice of wheels and tyres and so, the 8ight 2.0 EU is only available as a kit – just the way you like it. Even an Imperial sized hex-driver set is included in the 8ight 2.0 EU kit and an EFRA race-ready fuel tank.