Before you even think about what kind of nitro RC you might want, it’s important to understand the current state of the market for basher grade nitro RCs.
Active Brands
Traxxas
The nitro RC bashing market is currently dominated by Traxxas and their lineup of nitro RCs, which includes stadium trucks, short course trucks, and monster trucks. Traxxas has been making nitro RCs for decades, they are one of the biggest brands in RC, and they are very likely to continue producing all of the nitro models that are currently available.
Almost every RC hobby shop carries Traxxas products which means you can easily get Traxxas parts when you need them. If you prefer to buy online, their parts are carried by major retailers and independent sellers on eBay. The parts availability, quality, and user friendliness of Traxxas vehicles makes them the most popular brand of nitro RCs for bashing.
Nitro Rustler (2wd stadium truck)
Jato 3.3 (2wd stadium truck built for on-road)
Nitro Slash (2wd short course truck)
Slayer Pro (4wd short course truck)
T-Maxx 3.3 (4wd monster truck)
Revo 3.3 (4wd monster truck with an innovative design)
See all available Traxxas nitro RCs here.
HPI
HPI is currently producing five models for the nitro RC basher including a buggy, truggy, rally car, and two versions of their famous Savage monster truck.
Unlike Traxxas, HPI does not have a great track record when it comes to keeping models in stock and in production. Over the years, HPI has changed ownership and discontinued even their most popular models.
Parts availability is okay for HPI models. In the US, it is rare for a hobby shop to carry HPI parts, so you’ll have to order online. Amain hobbies is the most consistent supplier of HPI parts in the US. The one exception is replacement parts for HPI engines, which don’t seem to be very well stocked, but can still be found on sites like eBay or smaller independent hobby shops with online stores.
Savage X 4.6 (4wd monster truck)
Savage XL 5.9 (4wd monster truck)
Vorza 3.5 (4wd buggy)
Vorza F4.6 (4wd truggy)
WR8 3.0 (4wd rally)
See all available HPI nitro RCs here.
Kyosho
Kyosho currently has three offerings for the nitro RC basher: a buggy, an on-road touring car, and a monster truck.
Their buggy is one of the most popular entry level nitro RC buggies. You won’t compete in any serious RC races with it, but it is a great model for driving around the track or for entry level racing.
Their monster truck is a classic, featuring a rear solid axle for more realistic scale driving.
Their on-road touring car is the only 1/10 scale, entry level nitro kit on the market. If you want to build a nitro, this is your only option as far as in-production models go.
Parts support is similar to HPI. You can find what you need online, but probably not at your local hobby shop.
Inferno GT2 Race Spec (4wd on-road touring RTR)
USA-1 GP (4wd monster truck)
FW-06 (2wd on-road, kit that comes with engine)
Inferno NEO 3.0 (4wd buggy)
Serpent
Serpent currently makes a 1/8 RTR on-road nitro sedan and a 1/8 RTR off-road buggy.
LRP
LRP currently offers a beginner race-style RTR buggy.
S8 Rebel BX3 (4wd buggy)
The Knockoffs
There are a few companies that make nitro RCs you won’t find at the major retailers or at your local hobby shop. These models are cheaper and generally regarded as lower quality builds.
Racing vs Bashing Models
Vintage and Discontinued Nitro RCs
If you are looking at the used market for a nitro RC, this opens up a world of options for models that are no longer being produced. The degree of difficulty in terms of getting these models running and restored to their former glory is a few notches higher than maintaining an in-production nitro RC. Do you homework as some vintage models still have plenty of parts support through channels like eBay while others are nearly impossible to source parts for.
In general, it is a good idea to stick with an in-production model with good parts support for your first nitro RC so you can worry about actually maintaining and operating the model instead of where you’ll find parts.
Acquiring fuel
If you are going to own a nitro RC, you’ll need fuel and the availability of nitro fuel in your area is something to consider. For example, there might not be a hobby shop near you that sells nitro RC fuel. Also, there are countries that have banned the sale of nitro RC fuel (or fuel that is over a certain nitro percentage). As of now, I don’t know of any state or province in the USA or Canada that have banned nitro RC fuel.
Due to the cost of shipping fuel, it is most economical to buy a gallon or more at time. Fuel prices change, but the last gallon of VP 20% nitro fuel I purchased was $48 at my local hobby shop ($0.38/ounce). They also had quarts available for $18 ($0.56/ounce).
Learn more about buying fuel in the Buyer’s Guide here.
Mixing your own fuel
I should note that it is possible to blend your own fuel if you can’t buy it. This is typically reserved for people that have no access to fuel because it is banned in their country. It is not more cost effective to blend your own fuel unless you are doing very large quantities.
This video shows you how to make high-performance nitro fuel in large quantities:
This video shows how to blend your own fuel if you cannot get nitro where you live:
Anything can change at any time
Nitro RCs are a small subset of the RC hobby. At any time your local hobby shop could decide to stop selling nitro RCs products or the shop could close altogether. Your government could pass a law that makes nitro fuel prohibitively expense or impossible to source. Any of the above manufacturers could discontinue any or all of their nitro RC models.
It’s just the way it is with nitro RC. For now, in most places where RC is popular, there is still a large enough nitro RC bashing market to keep quality entry level nitro RCs in production and available for purchase.