The new Cougar SVR from Schumacher was announced the day before Oswestry national and the team had some show cars with them for the public to gaze lovingly at. Initial impressions are great - the car is a dedicated rear motor design to compliment their existing range of high performance cars.

Trish Neal who's one of the designers at Schumacher racing, gave us a run down of the new addition to breed. Trish explained that you can clearly see we have a new rear motor vehicle now (the first of its kind from Schumacher in over 10 years, with the Fireblade being the previous rear-motor model) with the obvious addition of a forward cab shell (which also fits the SV2). The new car won't be a replacement for previous editions and can't be converted to mid motor. The front end of the car is mainly based upon the SV2 and will come equipped with new, longer front suspension arms that we saw in testing stage at the opening round of the championship. (the car in these photos doesn't have the new front arms because they were in short supply).

Also on the front are new ball cups and reinforced lower bulkheads which have extra material to ensure strength and reliability.

The new off-set front ball cups have a reinforcing ring to vastly improve their strength and stiffness. Trish also mentioned the gold coloured turnbuckles are a new design/material, and very strong.

Big foam spacer = lots of battery position adjustment

The main chassis plate is a flat alloy plate similar to the Cougar SV2 but instead of the usual undertray the SVR uses long moulded sidepods to seal the car and prevent dirt getting inside.

The rear gearbox is a total new design and is slightly wider than the SV/SV2 and has a lip to help seal the two halves. Differential access is apparently super quick with the removal of four screws, and the gearbox internals are beefed up. The lower rear gearbox housings are anodised black aluminium with moulded plastic uppers; it features a sealed gear cover.

The lower half of the gearbox also mounts the suspension	The front end of the rear suspension mounts to carbon plates.

An optional gear-diff is going to be available to suit certain conditions - it won't fit the SV2 due to the narrower gearbox design on that car.

The rear suspension features carbon fibre lower pivot retainers on the front to hold the pivot spheres, optional adjustments for toe-in and anti-squat will be available for the different settings. The rear of the hinge pins sit inside fixed mounts built into the alloy lower gearbox. Big bore shocks come as standard with this kit.

The CVA driveshafts are a new part for the Cougar SVR and are interchangable with the UJ style shafts on the SV2.

Another new addition to this model are the new flex-lite (superwhite) wheels in a new material which is more flexible, it's lighter, and stronger.

Schumacher say the SVR has been designed with the international market in mind and has already been tested extensively on dirt tracks in the UK (RHR Dirt) and across the continent; it will make its debut appearance at the European Chamionships in Austria next week at the thumbs of Tom Cockerill and 7 other Schumacher drivers from around Europe.

The release of this latest Schumacher buggy is very exciting for drivers in the UK and international racers who enjoy competing on dirt tracks, and we look forward to seeing the results it will bring. Best luck to Tom Cockerill and the team who will be showcasing the car in the European Championships.

The NEW Cougar SVR is a professional, high performance 2WD racing buggy designed especially for dirt and low traction surfaces. Developed from the highly successful Cougar range of cars which have won countless races worldwide.
The SVR incorporates an all new transmission with a rearward motor location and optimised weight distribution for maximum traction.

The SVR designed for dirt, designed to win!

Cougar SVR Specification
Power Source: ELECTRIC
Model Type: 2WD, OFF ROAD, COMPETITION
Length: 370mm
Wheelbase: 267mm
Width: 240mm

Features

• NEW Rear motor, three geared transmission - Excellent grip on low traction circuits..
• NEW CVA style driveshafts - Increased drive.
• NEW Forward cab shell - Modern look that offers improved high speed steering.
• NEW Moulded chassis sides - Fantastic dirt seal with no handling compromise.
• NEW Longer front wishbones - Improved corner speed.
• NEW Alloy chassis - low centre of gravity for LiPo batteries.
• NEW Stronger front bulkhead and bottom plate - Its even tougher.
• NEW Large front/rear battery position adjustment - Allows weight distribution tuning for each track.
• NEW Gear differential option available.
• NEW Carbon Fibre Anti-Squat plates 0º - 3º.
• NEW Quick access differential.
• NEW Material strengthened wheels.
• Heavy duty, big bearing differential - Small diameter, lightweight unit offering low rotating mass.
• 24 piece “Red Seal” ball bearing set - Gives silky steering and transmission.
• Large transmission bearings - Strong and reliable.
• Super strong steering levers, unique constant radius steering system - Offers true ackermann and linear steering response.
• Easy to assemble, rigid wing mount system - Stronger, with less wing flex.
• Moulded gear cover - Better spur gear protection.
• “Super cool” Alloy motor plate - Larger surface area and greater thickness offers better cooling and rigidity.
• Rear wishbones - Offers more lower position shock mounting options.
• Rear anti-roll bar - Better handling.
• Accepts either stick, saddle or shorty lipo batteries as standard - For superb versatility.
• Pro spec 13mm big bore shocks with titanium nitride shafts, CNC machined pistons with recessed ‘e’clips, threaded collars, twin O-ring sealing and diaphragm volume compensation.
• PTFE coated shock bodies - Hard, and super smooth shock action.
• All CNC machined internal geared transmission - Super quiet and efficient.
• Excellent centre line balance - Great control for all track surfaces.
• Adjustable bushed pivot control system - Super smooth, multi position suspension action.
• Fully optimised suspension geometry - Fast, consistent handling.
• Maximum dimension rear wing - Superb airflow control, offering maximum down force.
• Black 7075 T6 alloy motor plate and lower diff mounts. - Strong yet lightweight.