We received the terrible news out of Italy that fire has ripped through the GRP Gandini factory in Guidizzolo, Italy last night. Thick, and i’m sure toxic, smoke fueled by plastic in the building filled the air around the blaze. Needless to say this is a massive set back for the manufacturer and their employees, but thankfully it seems no one was hurt and the Gandini brothers will hopefully rebuild. We will keep you informed of any updates.
Following on from our coverage of GRP at the toy fair, the Italian company has released complete details of the new updates in their product line for 2009. They now offer a bigger buggy wheel, now 83mm in diameter compare to 79mm, which improves the stiffness, while the weight has actually been reduced from 40 grams to 31 grams, a saving of 21%. A well as a new super soft compound in all their tires, GRP have also released an updated Cubic pattern to improve traction and lateral grip thanks to a new tire structure and new design and positioning of the pins. As we mentioned in our fair coverage, there is the new worked black insert which is more resistant to crushing, abrasion and heat than the orange molded version. Finally the company’s tuned engine line has received some small updates, including new internal crankcase workings, a new industrial natural diamond treatment on the crankshaft, better lubricated conrods, updated carburetor and a new rear cover. They also offer a Scuderia version of each engine which has been run in at the factory using a very specific fuel.
Click here to see the other products
Adam Drake was in touch to give us a heads up on a great how-to article that he has written on the Losi website explaining how to ‘Tune your GRP engine like a Pro’. In the article he explains how to break in the motor, what fuel to use when doing so, as well going into detail about the operating temperature, the air filter used, amount of head shims, even explaining the influence of different weather conditions. Focusing on GRP engines, this information is also useful for racers using other makes of engines too.
Check out the article here.
Source: Losi [losi.com]
GRP Gandini are back once again with their very orange booth, which as ever is very clean and well presented. Big things this include their new cut and glued foam inserts, which unlike their previous molded inserts, don’t compress over time, giving the tire a much more consistent handling over runs longer than around 10 minutes. The foam is cut from a sheet and then glued along a seam. This in turn is now also glued to the rim, which creates a much more stable tire laterally. GRP will also sell their wheels with these new inserts separately for racers that want to mount their own tires.
GRP have announced their Worldwide GRP price reduction program, to be launched officially this month. To help face up to the serious worldwide financial crisis which is involving all sectors their idea is to make all high quality GRP products, tires, engines, and gadget lines, available at greatly reduced prices compared with 2008. This price reduction is possible by reducing to a minimum their margins, by removing some steps in the traditional distribution chain, and by the distributors also accepting a reduction of their margins. In this way they intend to widen the range of end-users, who will be able to purchase now, at advantageous prices, their top end products.
Click more to see the main points of the GRP program… content
GRP have released their latest product in their tire range, the narrow Jolly. Reduced in width from 44mm to 30mm in width, they offer the best performance under wet and muddy conditions compared with standard width tires. It is possible to use it also under dry conditions on the front combined with the standard Jolly on the rear, if your car has too much bite on the front. Available in the same compounds as for all other GRP standard tires and they are also available as pre-mounts.
Source: GRP [grpgandini.com]
GRP have released a new 1/8th scale buggy rim and is the product of many tests carried out during this racing season, according to the usual GRP policy, whereby GRP introduces on the market its own new products only after many long test sessions. The rim features a new structure to improve its flexibility and has been lightened by 21% from 40 grams to 31 grams. Featuring a new external diameter of 83mm they are available in White and fluorescent yellow.
Source: GRP [grpgandini.com]
According to Italian newspaper ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’, engine and tire manufacturer GRP Gandini has been sold to a Chinese investor. The move follows some financial difficulties for the competition brand following bad months for sales in September and October. This led to the investment bank wanting out and so the owners, Stefano and Maurizio Gandini, were forced by the banks to sell the concern, which they started in 1994. The sale, said to be in the region of six million euros dollars, leaves the former owners no longer at the helm of the company, but both will stay on as technical advisors. It not confirmed whether the production will move to China where the paper claims production costs will be 1/3rd of that in Europe. We have contacted GRP for comment and will add their response when we get it.
UPDATE (17:52): The Gandini brothers have issued a statement (automatic translation) on an Italian forum saying they have not been sold and the whole story was a HUGE misunderstanding by the journalist who wrote the piece.
UPDATE (18:18): GRP have directly sent us a statement which is published below… content
