I do know some offshore manufacturers have a limiter, but it's pulse width in the injectors to modulate rpm, at not only wot no load, but also speed.
Seem to recall that shutting off speed limiter, also shut down the rpm limit but don't know for sure.
Most carbed engines hit valve float before overcoming pumps ability to push fuel, electric pumps took care of that and simple regulated regulators have no ability to limit rpms, she'll go till she blows. Newer more electronically controlled vehicles are much easier to program everything. BUT!!!!not all new cars are rpm limited, an that funny ass noise you hear is the valves bouncing back up off the seat, with gasses going places it's not supposed to go and valve train thinking it time to blow...

Which begs to question a couple things.....why would one drop the go peddle without load?!?!!!! seriously! I've grenades more than just a few engines by purposely windowing a block, but not something I planned on keeping...
And it cannot be that expensive at all to put in an rpm limiter pill. I had a dozen different rev limiters I used in my race car, for different tracks that I didn't want to run past 7200 rpms going down the straight and what final drive I was using. Generally I'd get the light that it was activated just before I'd brake for a turn, IF I had the correct pill stuck in it. Think they were about $20 a piece an not expensive at all.

Now the diesel vehicles I work on, Ford an Chev, every single one of them have rev limiters, all controlled by the pcm and injector PW, at least the direct injection engines.

The WRX cuts the fuel injectors. And people reprogram their ECU's.

That said, WRX's can blow up with the bottom ends let go at high RPM, usually in relation to a bad braze on the oil pick-up tube and oil starvation. More Frequent in 2011, 2012, rare in 2013, have not heard of it in 2014+.

Yeah they're all fuel cut. Spark cut would kill catalysts in a hurry.
There's some small amount of cars pulling timing beforehand, but most are just dropping fuel.
Its vastly different than valve float.
I could take a video of my tundra on the limiter, won't hurt it any.

Judging by the way most CRV drivers putt around, it probably did your engine some good to knock some carbon off.

I resemble that remark.

My wife is the exception. She has a turbo and uses it. Scares the shit out of me. She says I worry more the older I get!

It's fuel cut. It literally doesn t cost anything to add another action to the ecu.

The limiter in my car was cycled cylinder plugs, would feel the neutral hp and no gain in speed, but no off sounds.
But then again, that's in a SBC spinning at 7200.

Typically the most aggressive drivers I know are all women so it doesn't surprise me.

My wife used to have a friend who tailgated, sped, jerked across multi lanes of traffic to get to an exit, etc. She had a Neon SRT-4 and drove it like it was a go kart. My wife was with her once when she caught up to another driver at a stop light and threw a full soda through the other driver's open window and then sped off.