I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I too would keep it gas. It's not "nitro" so it falls into that special niche between the "perfect" world of BL, and the icky world of nitro.
Then again, you have a motor/ESC for it already. Don't know how you're gonna set it up so the mechanical brakes don't activate when you go into reverse (unless you disable reverse, but then you don't have reverse). And batteries are gonna be a challenge to find a setup that will give decent runtime without spending a fortune.
Either way, I'd get it. The BL/gas decision would be a little harder for me. At the very least, I'd try it on gas first and see how it works for you and decide from there.
On second thought, how is parts support? That would be a big consideration for me to get any vehicle.