Traxxas has an amazing marketing idea...."offer an affordable, 'tough as nails' RC car that everyone could drive"....they have been making money for decades now. Hobbico is not in the market of losing money so you can bet there was a marketing move when Axial was bought. Do you think its fiscally sound to continue to cater to a small group of drooling diehards or target a much larger market....say, one that has yet to buy RC cars? There are WAY more people that do not have RCs than those who do. Makes sense that we will not see something WE want.
Consider who Axial is in bed with....so to speak. Jeep and a few off race companies. If ties are severed with Jeep, who else will foot the bill? The wraith was a great introduction into a new culture of RC fanatics, now that niche has been introduced and WIDELY exploited, I don't see another "solely off-road" vehicle being born simply based on the limited companies willing to pay for a representative RC in their chosen Sport....Then again, perhaps there were/are many contributors or a sanctioned body willing to fund a representative RC version of said sport to garner support from the mainstream spectators.
Granted, I thought SCT when they started to sponsor Casey Currie, but, they just made him a cool looking Jeep. Since Parker hit a home run with the RECON G6 series, its pulling in plenty of "common" folk as an introduction to the sport - great gimmick by the way....I'm sold! But then again, I always have been. With the "new hobby enthusiasts" market doing well, its not completely out of the realm of plausible to think Axial has freed up a little time and money to exercise their creative juices and freedoms on a smaller "Comp" style RC....existing sport, of course. Its apparent that the companies Axial is integrated with in the outdoor world get first choice when it comes to new products....heck, that's how deals are made and money is made/saved. I foresee more advertising for the current off road technologies than I do for an RC that emulates, in scale, the sport specifically. In other words, its cheaper and easier to build a product to advertise for companies in existence than it is to build a Ultra4 or KOH vehicle. More groups are reached through technologies than specific sport classes.
I have to agree it would be easy to create a U4 chassis and cage, heck, perhaps that should be a side project for Axial - bolt on parts from your existing RCs and boom - Wrexo/U4
So, where does that leave us? Wanting more? You bet....expecting more?! YUP! Only time will tell. All this being considered, I have no idea what is coming out of the stable, but I sure hope is one brutish STUD!
I'm tired now, I'm gonna take a nap