streetracer - I can imagine that your stock chassis would be your best bet for bashing around. The carbon fiber chassis isn't going to make your car a better basher, and you'll risk destroying the chassis or shorting your electronics. I would stick with the stock one.
tex - Yes, I'm not sure who does the website anymore. Although Horizon should have all the parts listed.
TGA - Ask and ye shall receive, apparently. Haha!
Converting any 1/8th scale buggy to electric is going to take some ingenuity, I don't think that's a fair basis to judge the car on. Since you'll be able to ditch the engine, throttle servo, receiver pack, and fuel tank, you should have plenty of room. Also, fitting a saddle pack into a space that would hold a stick pack is a piece of cake.
The Losi buggy is different from pretty much every buggy on the market. The way the car accelerates and jumps are the car's two most highly regarded traits, although it does everything well. It has a lot of steering, good traction, and is very stable through rough stuff.
The Losi 8IGHT benefits most from being driven conservatively; although a totally different driving style than every other buggy on the market, you don't have to put much effort into hustling the car around the track, resulting in less mistakes.