Whoa, you are right, no one talks about it anymore, but I still race mine in club races, and I tell you after you get it dialed, that car runs sweet. It is a beast. Yes the clutch took a little bit to set up, but that's what a racer car is, you need to know what you are doing.
Too bad they stopped developing it, it could have been much better.
If you are in NYC, head over to Floyd Bennett Field and Watch the good old r40 kick ass.