Schumacher Racing Products
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| Schumacher Racing Products | |
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| Type of Company | Private Limited Company (Ltd.) |
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| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Northampton, England |
| Key people | Cecil Schumacher, Robin Schumacher |
| Industry | Racing |
| Products | Radio-controlled Cars |
| Employees | 30 |
| Slogan | Schumacher, Performance and Technology |
| Website | www.racing-cars.com |
Schumacher Racing Products (or just Schumacher) is a well established manufacturer and distributor of radio-controlled cars and accessories.
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[edit] History
The company was started in Northampton, England as Schumacher Racing Products in 1980 by Cecil Schumacher. It originally produced upgrade components for model cars, including the world's first ball differential. The first car to be produced by Schumacher was the XLS lexan chassis in 1981. This was followed in 1983 by the "C" car, the first car designed specifically for racing on carpet. It included many features that are still around on every modern 1/12th scale car. Although basic by today’s standards, at the time it was a top racer winning many races. Race wins include the euros in 1985 and 1988.
Radio controlled cars evolved and changed rapidly. In the late half of the 1980s, off-road RC cars increased in popularity. Schumacher created the CAT (Competition All Terrain) 4WD 1/10th scale off-road buggy in 1986. It went on to win the world championships in 1987.
Schumacher went on to produce many off-road electric cars through to the mid 1990s. The radio-controlled car world continued to change, this time toward 1/10th scale electric touring cars. Schumacher developed a series of racing touring cars, and continue to today.
The popularity of the touring car class seriously affected the off-road world. Schumacher stepped down the development of this class through the 1990s. Schumacher now was starting to dominate a niche in the "fun" car sector, with high power/speed nitro powered models capable of real speeds in excess of 80 mph.
[edit] Present time
Schumacher continue to operate out of factory in Northampton, England. The nature of the current economic climate has meant that Schumacher has to have some products out-sourced from China. However, the majority of the manufacture remains in England, and Schumacher remains very much an English company.
Over the turn of this century the Schumacher product line-up became quite familiar with the "fun" cars and Schumacher’s touring car range. Cecil Schumacher's son Robin Schumacher took over the business in 2001. Since then, Schumacher have distributed a large number of products using their well established supply chains.
In late in 2005 the Schumacher Havoc, a "fun car" was released. The latest product being the Rascal (1/16th Scale 2WD Nitro Truck, powered by a .18 ci engine, Launched in Summer 2006.
[edit] Schumacher BTCC
Schumacher has its own race series which it promotes in the UK, run to BRCA rules. It features four classes: Stock 27t, Superstock 19t and Modified & Brushless for any make of Touring Car.
Its also features a class for its GTRe on road racer. This class debuted in 2006, taking over from Schumacher's previous Big 6 Lotus class.
The series takes place over 9 Rounds. Each rounds feature 3 qualifying heats and 2 Finals, with the best 10 final results counting to each drivers score.
The Series uses Control Tyres, which are the Sorex 28R, 32R or 36R, each pre-glued with a Sorex insert and Rev-Lite wheel. For the first time, 2006 allows the use of Tyre Warmers.
[edit] Products
As from May 2006, in alphabetical order
- Schumacher Fusion (1/10th Scale 4WD Fun Nitro Touring Car)
- Schumacher Fusion R12 (1/10th Scale 4WD Racing Nitro Touring Car)
- Schumacher Havoc (1/8th Scale 2WD Nitro Stunt Truck)
- Schumacher Menace (1/10th Scale 4WD Nitro Truck)
- Schumacher Menace GTR (1/8th Scale 4WD Nitro GTR On-road)
- Schumacher GTRe (1/8th Scale 4WD Electric GTR On-road)
- Schumacher Mi2 (1/10th Scale 4WD Electric Touring Car)
- Schumacher Mi2 EC (1/10th Scale 4WD Electric Touring Car)
- Schumacher Rascal (1/16th Scale 2WD Micro Nitro Truck)
[edit] Future
As of the past, times have recently changed in the RC worlds and 1/10th scale off-road has gained some popularity in parts of the world and Schumacher have started development on the new CAT. This has led to some excitement, with a few enthusiasts remembering the time in the past (mid 1980s to mid 1990s) when Schumacher was a dominant force in this class.
Schumacher also will continue with their successful touring car and fun car range.
The following are thought to be in development:
- CAT 4000 *Postponed* (1/10th Scale 4WD Electric Buggy)
- Riot (1/10th Scale 2WD Nitro Stadium Truck)
- Mi3 (1/10th Scale 4wd Electric Touring Car)
[edit] External links
- Schumacher - official site
