[morganb]

I had a 1/8 scale gas tamiya buggy, 4WD, 4 wheel suspension (similar to yours David), what a machine!! it would come out of corners sideways with all 4 wheels spinning on grass and gravel. it also had brakes so you could turn it sideways, hit the brakes (rear only) get it to change direction and then mash the throttle.Moved to Hong Kong and sold it (not enough off road).
They are great fun and mine one was really fast, maybe 45 MPH. Its a bit of a hassle starting them and getting them to run, or at least it was 6+ years ago.
Mine ran on a special fuel mix, not nitro though.