Mini Monster Truck
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A mini monster truck is an automobile, typically styled after and resembling an actual monster truck, although built on a much smaller scale. They are typically used for recreational use, although true mechanical replicas are often featured alongside their larger counterparts in popular Sports Entertainment. While not very common, they are almost exclusively seen only in North America, especially in Canada and the United States.
The mini monster truck generally surfaced in the mid to late 1980s, coinciding with the sudden rise in popularity of such monster trucks as Bigfoot and USA-1. Such mini monster trucks were intended for younger fans of the sport as toys, and were mass produced to be used for strictly recreational purposes. Generally speaking, they were simply unmodified go-karts or all-terrain vehicles with a fiberglass body made to resemble the popular trucks of the time.
Although these mass produced mini versions of the actual monster trucks were more common, true one of a kind mechanical reproductions would surface, such as Baby Cyclops, modelled after the very popular 1980s monster truck, Cyclops. Featuring a 350 horsepower Chevy V-8 engine, custom forged leaf springs and dual Rancho Suspension RS5000 shock absorbers, it was the first of it's kind and led the way for others to follow.
Today, mass produced mini monster trucks are still popular, such as the Fisher-Price produced version of Grave Digger which reaches speeds between 2 and 7 miles per hour. While actual mechanical reproductions are still few and far between, they do exist. The Firestarter Mini Monster Truck is not just one of the only mini monster trucks in active competition today, it is also one of the only trucks not based on a larger monster truck already in existence. Recently driving for both Feld Entertainment and Chris Arel Motorsports in 2009 , it features a Chevy 3.0 V-6 engine, rear steering and Knight Stalker nitrogen charged shock absorbers.
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