VehiclesSerpent

Serpent

Serpent is one of the oldest names in RC racing, a maker of on-road and off-road competition cars that began as a Dutch company in 1980 and is now headquartered in Hong Kong.1

VehiclesHistory and background

Founded
1980, in the Netherlands1
Headquarters
Hong Kong, with its factory in Dongguan, China1
Company
Serpent Ltd1

Serpent vehicles

Buggies

2WD and 4WD off-road race buggies

About Serpent

What it stands for

Serpent says most of its development, marketing and sales staff "are RC car racers," and that their racing experience "helps to design the right cars."1 It also says it "was the very first company in RC cars design" to adopt 3D design software.1 Of the SRX2 Gen3 Team it says: "we are un-rivalled in our interest to win, that’s a promise."6

Known for

1/8 on-road racing, which Serpent calls its roots: it says it has designed over 20 1/8 platforms, with features such as the Centax clutch and pushrod suspension.1 Michael Salven raced for Serpent from 1980 and was chief designer of its cars for three decades.10 Its first car was the Competition MK III, a 1/8 2WD nitro car.1

Product portfolio

Serpent says it is active in 20 classes of RC car racing.1 Its race on-road range runs from the Medius 1/10 electric touring cars and the Natrix 750 nitro touring car to the Viper 990 1/8 on-road cars and the SRX8GT R 1/8 GT cars.2 Off-road it makes SRX8 1/8 buggies and truggies in nitro and electric form, and the Spyder SRX2 and SRX4 1/10 buggies.3 Ready-to-run cars reach down to the 1/24 Mini Spyder.4

Racing record

Serpent lists world titles in 1/8 on-road for Rody Roem in Japan in 1985 and for the 977 in Japan in 2013.1 In 2026 Andrea Catanzani won the EFRA 1/8 GT European Championship in Portugal, after losing the win in 2024 to a gearbox failure and in 2025 to a fuel tank that failed post-race technical inspection.8 Serpent followed with the SRX8GTR EC, a replica of the winning car.9

Timeline

  1. 1977Design work starts; until 1979 the cars are developed and made by a small company, FWF Engineering.1
  2. 1980Serpent is officially in business, making Serpent cars under the company name BERTON.1
  3. 1985Rody Roem of the Netherlands wins the 1/8 world title in Japan.1
  4. 2013The 977 wins the 1/8 on-road world title in Japan.1
  5. 2023The Spyder SRX2 Gen3 Team 1/10 2WD buggy kit.5
  6. 2026The SRX8 Gen4 1/8 nitro buggy, designed by Billy Easton.7
  7. 2026Andrea Catanzani wins the EFRA 1/8 GT European title.8

Sources

  1. Serpent, About us.
  2. Serpent, Race On-Road.
  3. Serpent, Race Off-Road.
  4. Serpent, Hobby Off-Road.
  5. RedRC, Serpent Spyder SRX2Gen3 Team kit, 17 June 2023.
  6. Serpent, Spyder SRX2 Gen3 Team 1/10 EP (SER500016).
  7. RedRC, Serpent SRX8 Gen4 1:8 Nitro Buggy, 15 May 2026.
  8. RedRC, Catanzani finally crowned European 1:8 GT Champions, 31 May 2026.
  9. RedRC, Serpent SRX8GTR EC 1:8 Nitro GT Kit, 31 July 2026.
  10. RedRC, Serpent legend Salven joins Ielasi Tuned, 9 May 2026.