RC car maker Losi has released what's being called the most advanced radio controlled car ever built. The Ten-T has a single-cylinder 3.4 cc gas engine that burns a mixture of methanol, nitromethane and lubricant and provides 1.8 hp. It has dual disk brakes, front and back, and adjustable suspension. Even though it's only 18 inches long and weighs just 6.2 pounds, it's built like a race car. Eric Adams of Popular Science has all of the details:
Article Link and Manufacturer Link | Photo (unrelated) via flickr user SteelCityHobbies used under Creative Commons license
With the Ten-T you just hit "start" on the remote. That turns on the car's own electric motor, powered by a 7.4-volt lithium-polymer battery. The motor turns a starter shaft behind the engine, which spins the crankshaft until the engine's suction draws in fuel. Meanwhile, the battery also lights a glow plug, similar to a spark plug, in the engine. The plug's hot element, combined with the compression of the fuel-air mixture when the piston rises, ignites the fuel. Then the plug keeps glowing, and the fuel keeps burning, until you're ready to call it quits.
Article Link and Manufacturer Link | Photo (unrelated) via flickr user SteelCityHobbies used under Creative Commons license
That said, this car is pretty standard fair as far as modern RC cars go. The only "innovation" here is the electric starter for the nitro motor. But Traxxas has been doing that for years.
Just another pseudo-article/advert from the maybe popular but definately not science PopSci magazine.
Brushless electric engines make a ton more power, run silently, don't need fuel, and are easier to control.