G-Force Genova Carpet Edition: the Japanese 1:10 2WD buggy moves to carpet

Photo: G-Force (source)

G-Force is spinning off its in-house buggy into a Genova Carpet Edition, a version of the 1:10 2WD kit built for carpet and artificial turf. Listed as GK201 (JAN code 4580416472012), it is announced at 36,300 yen excluding tax with an on-sale date of 19 September 2026.

A 1:10 2WD buggy optimised for carpet

The Genova’s basic recipe is unchanged: traditional rear motor layout, a long 292 mm wheelbase, a chassis designed around traction. What changes is everything that touches grip. The kit comes with Carpet Edition tyres front and rear as standard — a block pattern at the front, a pin pattern at the rear — mounted on 2.2-inch fluorescent yellow hex wheels, along with a rear insert developed specifically for this use.

Front wing, dedicated springs and lowered ride height

The most visible novelty is the front wing, held by a machined-from-billet aluminium mount. The aim: limit front-end lift on very high-grip surfaces, keep pressure on the front tyres and reduce understeer across the whole speed range.

The springs are specific too, with wire diameter, coil count and length revised after testing. Shorter than the standard kit items, they allow a lower ride height and limit body roll — and therefore the risk of highsiding — on carpet and artificial turf.

An already solid mechanical base

The rest of the chassis carries over the Genova’s strong points: high-rigidity composite suspension arms to transmit damping more faithfully, four big-bore aerated oil shocks supplied assembled (just add oil), a gear cover with an access hole for slipper adjustment, a separate slipper that makes 48 dp spur changes easy, an all-metal gear set, steel turnbuckle upper links and factory-assembled universal driveshafts. The car runs bearings throughout the drivetrain.

On the numbers, the Genova Carpet Edition measures 405 mm long (wing and tyres included) and 165 mm tall, 248 mm wide at the front and 245 mm at the rear. It weighs 1,040 g bare and around 1,400 g once equipped. The drivetrain is designed for a 540 motor with an 80-tooth spur and a 23-tooth pinion, for an 8.39:1 ratio.

The body and wing, with their deliberately nostalgic styling, remain supervised by Masami Hirosaka; the decal design has been redrawn for this version. Two references go with it: the GSP054 body set with decals (5,000 yen excl. tax) and the GSP077 2&4WD Buggy Tyre Inner Carpet Edition inserts, two per pack (800 yen excl. tax). Radio, electronics and battery are still required.