The Kyosho Ultima was released in 1986. Little did the engineers at Kyosho know, this name would be used for 20 years. In 1988 the Ultima was given a name that can only be earned, "World Champion". In the very capable hands of Joel Johnson, the Ultima won the IFMAR 2wd world championship. This name was well deserved.
Not only was the Ultima fast and nimble, but it also looked great. Kyosho hung on to the Baja buggy roll cage look for this one. It's hard to imagine that a full competition buggy had a roll cage with a driver and a metal roof. As for design flaws this buggy has a couple. The first being the same shock collars that plagued the Optima and Javelin. If tightened too tight or too often they would snap. The next would be the locknuts that were used on the shock towers and wheels. For what ever reason the dependable steel and nylon nuts were replaced with solid plastic ones. They stripped very easily and always needed to be replaced. The steering servo was also very hard to get to quickly due to the chassis design. On the positive side, due to very high distribution numbers the Ultima makes a great candidate for a vintage back yard basher. Spares are still quite easy to find.
