By Ross Ballot
Rlaarlo is undergoing a revolution. It’s clear the company is trying to hang with the big dogs of the RC world, fighting to get there by pumping out one impressive new release after another and packing each with specs to impress. Loaded with something to prove, Rlaarlo launched its newest release, the 1/10th scale SBK10 Storm Breaker buggy, square into the heart of the enthusiast market. Can it keep Rlaarlo’s mojo going?
Buggies have always been a niche fascination of radio controlled vehicle enthusiasts, their alien form a consequence of performance-first function. The SBK10– which also goes under the rad 1980s-sounding “Storm Breaker” moniker– is no exception here. The body hardly covers the suspension, and those wild shock towers are also the star of the visual show along with the bright orange paint. In fact, upon closer inspection the livery seems oddly familiar.
Let’s see… Papaya paint, Chrome-esque logos, a pixellated font, and the #81 emblazoned on the side. Yep, this is full-fledged Oscar Piastri getup. As a McLaren fan I’m certainly not mad, but I can’t help but wonder if OP himself knows. Doubtful. Keep in mind this is the metal version; there’s also a Carbon Fiber version which adopts a black-and-gold colorway with Cadillac-inspired badges. Looks like Rlaarlo might be trying to get in on the 2026 F1 season.
As for what the standard Storm Breaker has under its body, there’s a 45A ESC, a 2852-3100KV brushless motor, all-wheel-drive, an aluminum motor mount capable of holding a 28-series unit, a 2200 mah 35c LiPo battery, a “powder metallurgy vacuum high pressure” center differential, and a 11kg fully waterproof servo. The upgraded Carbon rig gets a 60A ESC, 3650-2650KV motor, 36-class capable motor mount, steel center diff, and 20kg digital servo. Both use a 2.4GHZ 6-Channel “Tyrannosaurus” radio. Strangely there’s a Lamp button on the transmitter but no lights on the vehicle itself.
The pricing isn’t strange though: Rlaarlo is going after the budget performance buyer. The standard RTR version seen here comes in at $299.99 (discounted to $219.99 as of this writing) and the Carbon Fiber version is usually $349.99 (but has a sale price of $269.99). In the RTR buggy class, these are relatively affordable machines given the equipment.
And that’s the thing: The SBK10 performs at or perhaps punches slightly above its price. It’s plenty punchy, especially down low where the immediate power will spin the hard tires with ease. And the SBK10 accelerates hard whenever it can, given traction is available. However, we must note that Rlaarlo claims the SBK10 will do 50-80 km/h (roughly 31 to 50 MPH); I don’t have a way to measure RC speed, but other reviewers/YouTubers out there have confirmed my suspicions that the Storm Breaker isn’t hitting its claimed target speed, with only 26-30 MPH measured on the stock factory pinion. Even 40-42 MPH seems to be the maximum on the included speed pinion.
Forget about speed for a second: The SBK’s chassis itself is excellent, and that’s the mark of a solid buggy-turned-basher. It’s rigid and tight which lets the other components– like shocks and tires– do their job. It’s no different from how a good chassis lets a sports car or race truck maximize its potential. For the fun side of things, this also aids in buggy-forward antics, like blasting over rough terrain and hitting jumps.
And since hitting jumps is its forte, we repeated the process over and over– who wouldn’t– to confirm it’s at home in the air and, more importantly, landing from flight. The Storm Breaker returns to tarmac with such grace that you’d think the shocks alone cost as much as the entire rig. Here, the chassis and suspension mesh beautifully. It’s the SBK10’s highlight reel, and we’re grateful that the included larger front bumper adds some crash protection.
Oh, and when it has all four tires planted on the ground, the immediate power delivery makes for endless drifts and powerslides when your throttle finger so requests. Hilarious, smile-inducing times are endless when you overpower the traction, which is all too easy on low or even medium traction surfaces.
Or maybe it’s a display of the car’s tires, which aren’t doing it any favors. Rlaarlo equips the Storm Breaker with narrow front and wide rear tires, so the staggered stance inevitably has some detriment on handling versus a square setup’s more neutral balance. And it’s those tires that contribute to the Storm Breaker’s weak points. On paved surfaces– or anywhere the front tires can’t dig in like they can on dirt or grass– the SBK10 understeers like crazy. Our testing conditions (sub-freezing temperatures) didn’t help the car’s case, but the stock tire setup just isn’t great. Luckily that’s an easy– and inexpensive– thing to remedy.
At the end of our time testing the Storm Breaker pre-embargo, the standout aspects are the suspension and chassis. Beyond that, the speed and power delivery the SBK10 offers (powerslides included) at the price point is a close second. What the SBK10 brings to the table is more than enough to make up for the few aspects we find lacking. We do also wish Rlaarlo had put a little more thought into some aspects and that they were a little more conservative with or at least able to meet their objective claims.
Rlaarlo’s ambitions are admirable, and some of the big brands out there could do well to learn from the company’s endless effort to innovate. While the SBK10 Storm Breaker isn’t perfect, we very much like the experience the machine offers overall. Rlaarlo probably has another hit on their hands.
Jeff Glucker