1991 Detroit Worlds Special Stealth Yokomo Cliff Lett

[GrePo]

I translated this article from a german magazine, january 1992:

In August 1991 Team Yokomo aimed to defend their world's title. They did so by finishing first and second, but not with their production Works cars, but with cars that were designed especially for this worlds track. It was forbidden to photograph the cars, probably because Yokomo tried to disguise that these machines are no Works models. Fortunately a few pictures of this Stealth-Yokomo were made and here we go revealing the Worlds Specials secrets.
On first view it may be disappointing because it looks similar to the Works. But on closer view it appears that it is a complete new construction. Based on a carbonfibre plate with different battery positions than Works. Batteries were moved backwards to make the frontend lighter. The battery arrangement is heavily V-oriented for increased agility. This was necessary to avoid roll over on the long straight surfsection. The upper deck is supported at a few points by chassis and back differential cover.
Suspension arms are redesigned for specific weight balancing. You can see on the photos how much wheelbase is shortened by special back suspension arm design. The special front arms shorten wheelbase only a little bit and make the car more aggressive on this worlds track with high grip level. The suspension arms are no molded parts, they are handcrafted prototype parts. Shock towers are new, at the front it increases progressivity so it reduces the risk of rolling over. The upper arms are mounted to adapterplates instead of shock towers. Most drivers used Team Car shocks instead of Works shocks. This new construction changed driving behaviour towards a significant advantage on the Worlds track.
Beside these changes there were tuning parts like steering knuckles with ball bearings and a slipper clutch, that is very similar to the Associated Torque Control (ATC). These both tuning parts were given not only to Yokomo Stealth drivers, but also the drivers who started with normal production Yokomo cars. It's planned to make production parts of them. Not so with the rims. The rims are composite plastics with carbon fibre reinforcement. These are special parts only for this worlds track and will never make it into series production.
Judge the photos and make your own opinion. Next time Worlds Special: Team Losi JrX Special Edition.