Under the Hood: Berkan Kilic’s Mugen MBX8R at the Worlds
A closer look at Berkan Kilic’s Mugen MBX8R at the Worlds, including suspension experiments, body mounting details and his equipment.
Presented by Elite RC Productions
Words: Max Mört · Photography: William Venables
This Under the Hood from the Worlds takes a closer look at Berkan Kilic’s Mugen MBX8R.
Berkan’s buggy was largely standard when we photographed it. During the event, however, he switched to an LCG-style front suspension arrangement that we caught in an action shot, before returning to the standard setup.
- Driver
- Berkan Kilic · Türkiye
- Chassis
- Mugen MBX8R
- Engine
- Ultimate Racing MXR
- Pipe
- Mugen Seiki Europe 2146
- Tires
- VP-Pro Frontier Evo
- Servos
- Sanwa PGS-XB II
A mostly standard MBX8R
Berkan is running a full steel screw kit rather than optimising everything for the lowest possible weight. Despite the mostly standard specification, a couple of details caught our attention.
The power switch appears to be an old-school mechanical switch with a protective shield around it—an interesting choice.
His bodyshell also appears to use magnetic attachments that connect to the steel screws in the side guards.
Front suspension experiments
The Kilic brothers have tested the increasingly popular laydown-shock arrangement at selected events this year, and seem particularly interested in using it at the front only.
At the Worlds, Berkan started with the standard arrangement, switched to the laydown setup after these static photos were taken, then returned to standard.
Setup and bodywork
The front setup looks largely standard. At the rear, the upper links are mounted high and the car is running high anti-squat—possibly a response to the high-grip conditions.
Berkan has chosen an S15-style bodyshell, as is usual for the Kilic brothers, paired with a Lexan wing.
Photo gallery
Explore the bodywork, chassis layout, radio equipment and suspension details in William Venables’ original photos below.
Supporting our Worlds coverage
Thank you to these companies for making NNRC’s Worlds coverage possible: JConcepts Inc, Hitec RCD USA, MLToys Performance Ride-On Parts, Elite RC Productions, Flysky RC, SWORKz RC, Avid Racing Concepts LLC, Invisible Speed RC, ProTek RC.