Teams of fast-paced entrepreneurs are angling for the inside track in Miami’s Italian restaurant competition, and Angelo Masarin has put the pedal to the metal with his gleaming Salumeria 104.

It might just be a fancy deli, but like the best Italian sports cars, it’s compact, well-designed and stylish. White-tiled walls, exposed ceilings hung with sexy globe lighting, polished concrete floors and rustic wooden tables give it a sleek, handcrafted yet minimalist look.

Never mind the play-toy hanging salami and ham shoulders (or the flat-screen TV); the real deal is behind the gleaming marble bar — the catbird seat for food lovers who want to watch Masarin deftly handle the Ferrari-red Italma meat slicers and lovingly caress the silken cuts of exquisite prosciutto di Parma or San Daniele.

The fare is simple and usually very good. There are a handful of house-made pastas on the one-page menu plus a pair of handwritten daily specials that might include regional surprises such as fegato alla Veneziani, sliced calf liver sautéed with sweet onions and polenta.

Must-do sides include emerald stalks of broccolini and gently fried puffs of delicate gnocchi that perfectly balance the salty meats, especially with wine. There are plenty of excellent bottles on the predominantly Italian list, stored well in a standup cooler and served in tumblers or, even better, quartinos for sharing.

This is a great pit stop, especially for lunch specials like a salad of Italian tuna over Paradise Farms arugula with baby pear tomatoes. An unusual dinner salad layers ribbons of radicchio with strips of fried guanciale (an Italian bacon), dots them with rosy cranberry beans and drapes it all in a sweetish balsamic reduction.

Waiters, uniformly friendly in their crisp white shirts and pig-emblazoned aprons, are forgiving of Americans asking for pastas as main courses instead of as a primi plati. Most pastas were expertly executed, including cavatello noodles made soft and pliable with ricotta and given a zingy boost from a tangy fresh tomato sauce and a potent basil. The rigatoni amatriciana’s sauce was fresh and feisty, with a fiery dab of spicy pancetta, though crazy salty.

The only pasta that stalled at the starting line was a tagliolini panna e prosciutto in an overly rich soup of cream sauce. (The tasteless, standard-issue bread is another miss; it’s worth $3 for the house-baked rosemary version.)

Top entrees include delightfully creamy bacala and a slab of porchetta — rosemary-studded pork wrapped in pork belly and seared until crisp and juicy — that’s bigger than the plate. Cubes of potatoes are soft inside and crackly outside, and perfect brussels sprouts balances it all.

Desserts, all house-made, include a punchy tiramisu and a warm strudel with a side of vanilla gelato. A surprising offer of free cookies — delicate, buttery and dotted with crushed walnuts or apricot jam — made our night. The whimsical, salami-shaped chocolate log is worth trying, too.

This sleek ride may not quite be firing on all cylinders yet, but with Masarin at the wheel, I’d take a test drive anytime.