OK, to help clear up some things, The old Qs had open gears that were prone to attract debris, The new R series cars have enclosed gears. The old cars had no lights, the R series currently have the Castrol Pitworks GT-R and Honda NSX with front and rear lights, also the "toe-in" has been removed on these two cars improving handling. The Other two R cars (RX-7 and Trueno) have a passive steering system installed, This enables the front wheels to "point" in the direction you are turning. This steering assembly is very bulky and tought, despite what you may think, It is built to handle most any accident that may happen (such as flying off the desk at top speed and hitting the wall). I wont tell you to Buy a certain car because that choice is yours, But I will tell you that the Rs have many advancments, I have even noticed a increased run time over the older cars, The batteries look the same so I think due to the look of the circuit board that some changes were made to it as far as power consumption goes. These cars also have a better controller than the regulars, BUT it is still not as good as the special controller (BLUE one with LCD screen). I cant stress this point enough- If you want to get the full power of these cars you NEED the Propo SPECIAL controller!