- TRY THAT IN YOUR HYBRID.

It's more environmentally friendly than any hybrid car, as quiet as a your average monorail train - but turns 4-wheel-drive donuts, J-turns, wheelies and jumps on its way to a 25mph top speed.

The Hot Bodies E-Zilla battery powered monster truck is in danger of giving electric power a bad name.

"Battery technology has exploded in recent years. Here we have an 18-inch long radio controlled (RC) truck with dual 14.4-volt batteries fuelling two massive electric motors giving it absolutely crazy performance," said Ritchie Dearden of Mirage RC Enterprises, distributor of Hot Bodies cars and trucks.

"Battery power gives maximum torque from a standstill, whereas nitro-methane powered trucks produce their max torque somewhere around 30,000 rpm.

"That means wheelies on demand, a low speed lugging power unknown amongst nitro trucks, and a consequent ability to drive through the challenging low speed tricky stuff as well as get big air at high speeds."

The Hot Bodies E-Zilla is available at £249.99 ready-to-run. It needs only eight AA batteries, for the hand controller, on top of the contents of the box in which it arrives. Stockists are detailed at mirageracing.com

In terms of standard kit, the E-Zilla features two shock absorbers at each corner, and all the chassis and steering adjustability of its nitro powered cousins. Full-time 4wd and plastic sliding driveshafts combined with low mounted batteries give the E-Zilla a low centre of gravity and huge stability both for powerslides and tough climbs.

Aggressive offroad tyres are wrapped around chrome wheels meaning it looks good as well as going well. There's also an extensive range of accessory and upgrade parts for the chassis, plus plenty of bling wheels, tougher tyres and design-it-yourself bodyshells.

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