Hey Jake. I've done a little mudding in 4x4 trucks and jeeps. I can tell you that you need HP to get through mud. With that said, I doubt a buggy would be very good in the mud, being the HP would be a little low.

You raise an interesting question though about a buggy's ability. Just maybe it would be light enough to float enough not to mire down in the mud. Sorry I don't have any experience in a buggy in the mud.

I think if I had to guess, I would say that it wouldn't be any good in the mud though.... based entirely on my experiences.

Jay

These guys might know a thing or 2 about that?
http://www.woodsbuggy.com/

I also did a couple year stint in East coast 4-wheeling waaaay back when, in a Jeep CJ7.  Besides becoming an expert at getting stuck(!), had a ball in that thing.  But being a VW guy from even further back, I always had in the back of my mind that a much lighter weight rail buggy with oversize Terra rear tires could do more floating over the mud than digging in like the huge 3-ton 4WD trucks did.  Likely be cheaper to repair too - I was constantly working on my CJ trying to keep it on the road as my daily driver.

Not sure if 2WD can go almost anywhere as a 4WD, but I think if set up right and light - it probably could?  Plus, there's always the winch to get you out of trouble!

Jeff

Horsepower is easy to add LOL. I agree with oversize floatation tires a buggy should do better than a 4WD in the mud. I've seen pictures of one in Canada's far north up to the axles in mug and bog going like hell. Bob says he never got it stuck tht bad, it was always easy to get out as it was light and the weight was over the drive wheels. I'd recommend an IRS rear end and link pin front end so you can get some height without extreme positive camber in the rear and there is tons of HD linkpin parts available for off road racing available.

brad

Brad, great idea about height while keeping camber with the IRS. I wouldn't have thought of that when building a mud boggy. (Pun intended)

Jay

Thanks Jay, You'll still get a bit of positive camber but won't be near as bad as a swing axle. You could also get some longer wider trailing arms for the IRS that will raise the car even more and move the wheels even closer to the motor. Plus you'll get better stability in rough terrain. They are pretty pricey by the time you add axles and CV joints, but most toys are.