The engine is a four-cylinder, double overhead cam engine that is normally supplied in a 1993 Yamaha FZR600 motorcycle. This engine can be obtained at low cost and offers many advantages over later model designs. The engine has a longer stroke and milder camshaft profiles, giving more torque at lower engine speeds. This means that the 20mm intake restrictor has less of an effect on the power output.

Fuel metering is accomplished using a single 34mm Mikuni carburettor. The carburettor is a constant velocity (CV) design. The CV design is able to provide precise fuel metering across a large range of engine speeds. Using a carburettor represents a significant saving and allows fuel mixture adjustments to be made quickly.

The intake manifold is a log design. A trial manifold was constructed with an adjustable plenum volume and length, which is used to optimise the engine performance. The exhaust system is a twin 2 into 1 design. This design has equal length primary pipes with equal bends in each pipe which provides equal back-pressure to all cylinders. The muffers have been designed and manufactured by the team and feature removable baffle tubes. This allows the back-pressure and noise level of the system to be optimised.