Don’t always get to see the high-tech advancements moving into the RC racing world, but the introduction this week of the new R7 Evoke v3.0 from Reds Racing is glorious mini-engine porn at its best and certainly deserves unabashed ogling.

Each of the performance-minded .21 engines is hand-assembled in Italy and personally tuned by Mario Rossi. Designed for the wildly popular 1/8-scale off-road buggies, the company says the 3.5cc nitro motor offers a smoother torque curve for low-grip, narrow circuits. Completely redesigned to get the weight down to just 348 grams, the engine features new sealing to keep dirt out of the internals. There’s also a new crank with aero-shaped counterweight and a long 16.9 mm stroke. It’s made from carbon steel and balanced with two high-density plugs in the counterweight. The sleeve features seven inlet ports and a single exhaust port with two boosters. The billet aluminum piston is machined to 16.2 mm diameter. Other features include roller bearings, an anti-friction-coated backplate and new carburetor design.

All parts are matched and measured by Rossi before assembly and his tuning. The engine is designed to run 25 to 30 percent nitro with eight to 10 percent oil, although 12 percent oil is recommended for break-in.

Exploded view of the engine’s components.