The Ofna Picco 26 Outlaw, the Team Orion Wasp 26, and the Werks Racing Picco P3 are all manufactured by Picco in Italy and they are all based on the same Picco P3 engine design.  Werks is the US distributor of Picco engines, and they just import the Picco P3 engines directly.  The Ofna and Team Orion versions are also made by Picco and then imported into the US by Ofna and Team Orion with an "OEM" relationship where Picco makes cosmetic changes and then Ofna and Team Orion sell it under their own names.

We have seen some rumors floating around on the internet that the Werks Racing Picco P3 engine is more powerful because it has "special porting" or "polishing". The numbers circulated are usually around 2.9HP, while the Team Orion Wasp .26 engine and Ofna Picco .26 Outlaw are commonly rated at 2.7HP. Where did people come up with 2.9HP on the Werks Racing Picco P3 version? Good question. The rumor is usually something like "special porting" or "polishing" or something like that. Sounds good, but is it true? Some have said that if you take a part a Werks Racing Picco P3 you will see a couple minor tweaks to the crankcase/block. This is what some people are saying is the "special porting" or "extra ports". If the cast crankcase has any differences, then the Picco factory in Italy would need to have 2 separate molds (or different mold cores) when die casting these engine blocks... one special one for Werks and a different one for the Ofna & Team Orion engines. Those familiar with engineering and manufacturing processes know that a precision die cast mold can cost many thousands of dollars. Why would someone want to make expensive extra molds of an otherwise identical part? Or these die cast engine cases would need to be CNC machined as a secondary operation with a different CNC program.  Are there different molds or processes used to produce these engines and their components? Some would like you to believe this, but.... according to the Picco factory in Italy all 3 engines leave the factory being identical except for minor cosmetics like color, naming, and packaging. They say that all the parts are interchangeable. Did you get that? That's the info from the manufacturer that actually produces ALL these engines!

What is important to understand is that it is not unusual for tweaks and revisions to be made to tooling (molds, etc...) during ongoing production runs. Ongoing tweaks and adjustments can be made to further improve a part or product as a manufacturer refines their product and processes. This is not unusual. So, if someone takes a part a brand new, factory fresh Werks Picco P3 and finds that the crankcase appears to have some small revisions inside, they can NOT just compare that to an old Ofna Picco 26 Outlaw engine that was manufactured 9 months ago and say: "See, my old Ofna crankcase doesn't have those same small indents in the case. The Werks is better!" Remember, the Ofna Picco 26 version has been sold since Spring 2003 and has been around for a while. Also remember that it is not uncommon for revisions and tweaks to be made to tooling (molds) and processes in an ongoing manufacturing process. Perhaps that's just what is going on here. So, what would really need to be done is to take apart a brand new: Werks Racing, Team Orion, & Ofna engine (all of them factory fresh - not just a "new" Ofna or Team Orion engine that sat on a shelf somewhere at a distributor or dealer for many months). Then all these factory fresh engine can be compared. According to the Picco factory, ALL the parts are interchangeable and the same except for minor cosmetic differences! Hopefully they know because they make all these engines!

Of course, if Werks Racing is selling an expensive "modified" version, then that is an entirely different story. It would make sense for a more expensive modified engine to be different and more powerful. We are talking about custom modifications that cost extra money. Werks Racing seems to be a great company, and they do in fact offer this service to customers that want to pay for custom modifications. However, they do not take apart each and every Picco P3 engine they have ever received and then custom modify each one! If you think about it, that would be absurd. Who can afford to take the time to totally disassemble thousands of engines and make custom modifications, carefully clean out any debris from custom porting/polishing, then re-assemble each engine, and then sell it for the same price?!?! Just think about it! Even so, we have been seeing people selling box stock Werks Racing Picco P3 .26 engines for under $200 and saying that they have have extra power because of special porting and polishing that the Ofna .26 and Team Orion .26 versions do not have. Those people were probably also just victims of misinformation that has been circulating around. It doesn't take long for rumors to spread like wildfire on the internet! Werks Racing may be a great company, but they also need to make a profit, and doing extensive work in order to custom modify each and every engine in house (and at no extra charge) would be unreasonable for any business.

Don't just take our word for it (or anyone else who is trying to sell you something). Do your own research! We'd recommend that you start your search by checking out the source... go to the Team Picco website and see that even they clearly rate the Picco P3 at 2.7HP! We expect that Picco knows how to rate their own engines!!  www.teampicco.com

We share all this in an effort to try to help relieve some confusion about this. We are interested in the truth (no matter what that may be). We believe it is only fair that customers receive accurate information. Be an informed buyer. Use your head. Do your own research and consider where info is coming from. Don't just believe every thing you hear, read, or someone tells you. Check it out for yourself.

So, no matter what version you buy (Werks Racing, Team Orion, Ofna Picco .26), you will be getting a powerful and high quality Picco made engine! This information is NOT intended to put down any of these versions of the Picco 26... they are ALL great engines!