trvlingman,
If you like the Jammin', you'll love the Hyper 8.5 Pro.
Based on my experiences with the Hyper 8.5, there's nothing that'll out run it or out handle it. If you lose a race with it, it's because you didn't prep effectively, or you didn't wheel it right. This is always the case when I don't have a good run. The car doesn't break unless you really give it a ton of abuse. I've not had one dnf due to parts failure on the 8.5. I've had batteries come loose or run out of charge (My Fault). I've had motors give me issues due to plugs going out or clutches needing maintenance b/c I waited too long.
Don't get me wrong, you have to maintain the car, but no more than any other car. It's a great platform. There are other good platforms as well. You just need to figure out which one suits you best.