Nothing magic here. It is a good quality mechanical distributor with the Pertronics Ignitor-II electronic ignition built in. The older Pertronics Ignitor module would fry if it was accidentally connected backward. The Pertronics Ignitor-II module is supposed to have reverse polarity protection, so maybe it wouldn't self-destruct if it was connected wrong. This one has a vacuum advance unit (good for street use). Apparently it is also available with no vacuum advance (good for racing, but not so good for fuel economy).

Find more information on the Pertronics web site.