I haven't had it apart yet because my son plays with it every day! This thing is fast!! I'm not sure, but its possible it has a brushless motor to begin with! The battery seems pretty good too.. a 1300mAh 9.6v Lithium Ion that holds its charge for quite a while! It definitely needs better shocks though, as the current ones just pogo the car when it goes over any bump.. Tires are a must too.. its good on the gravel, but not so much in the grass.. The radio is a 2.4 ghz instead of the usual 27 or 49 MHz ones you get in the smaller cars..