when you have rules, as in rc racing, there are certain parameters you have to build a car in ie wheel base, length, width, ride height...., so ya the cars are all gonna have some sort of basic layout that looks the same to people that dont understand mechanical things very well, the earliest I remember seeing this layout, main lower chassi, narrow top deck, rear engine, batteries all on one side, 4 wheel drive was the langraf dominator in the mid 80`s so any one that thinks a car built in the last 5 or so years was the first with this layout doesnt have a clue.......