Supercar-Inspired Motorcycles


A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

We’ve got bikes inspired by all kinds of things here at wBW. 

From the tattoo-inspired bikes courtesy of Indian Motorcycles, to the new limited edition Brough Superior machine inspired by Lawrence of Arabia, to the unique BMW R 18 by Revival Cycles that recently created a bike with inspiration from a birdcage for the chassis, it seems that the motorcycle has become a medium for whatever you love and find fascinating in life, as it should be. 

So naturally, being a Powersports website, we chose a list of bikes (and bike concepts) from RideApart that have been inspired by supercars. We leave it up to you to see if these beasties accurately reflect their four-heeled counterparts:

2014 Lotus C-01

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

What happens when the dude who created the TRON bike theme (Daniel Simon) decides to create a real-time, road-legal machine?

(Hint: it sports a 1,195 cc KTM engine and boasts 200hp)

The Lotus C-01 was inspired by the 49 F1 supercar of the same brand. Only 100 units have been made, and the report tells us that each comes with a pretty pricetag of $137,000 USD.

Our favorite part? probably the ‘Lotus’ emblem on the screen that replicates the nose intake of the 49 F1…and we’re also digging the clean disregard for right angles.

2003 Dodge Tomahawk

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

This is a bike you build when you’ve got a few chips on the ol’ shoulder and are very much compensating for something – and we can’t get enough of the bloody thing.

RideApart tells us that the sound of the Dodge Tomahawk is like gold nuggets being shoved in your ear – violent and valuable, and no wonder; with the bowels of this great barge bearing the dulcet tones of an 8.3-liter SRT10 Viper motor, we’ll forgive the sizeable gut and maybe believe the as-yet-unconfirmed 420mph top speed…(put that wallet away, you’re embarrassing yourself)

Originally debuted at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we’re told that this particular machine will sell for a bonkers $550,000 USD. That’s 6.5 ARCH KRGT-1‘s, and although we might choose Keanu Reeve’s bikes over this bestial producer of 500hp and 525 lb-ft of yank, we’ve got to admit we’re dying to know what it would feel like to swing a leg over – and whether or not we’d lose the leg.

1986 Lamborghini Design 90

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

This one’s an oddball.

The report tells us that “this extremely rare motorcycle crossed borders (and oceans, for that matter) for parts and inspiration during its creation.”

Furthermore, current known information of the bike is scattered in multiple versions – though there are a few key details everyone seems to have that match.

When it came to the creation of the Lamborghini Design 90, Claude Fior – a French engineer and moto racer – purportedly was responsible for the chassis and suspension – and despite the fact that we don’t know who did it, this bike at some point housed a 900 engine from a Kawasaki ZX, though the current heart beats from a Kawasaki GPz1000RX.

Unit numbers are all over the place, too, with our estimating that some 20 odd machines were crated under this particular aesthetic, with yellow, purple, and red being the prominent shades used.

Moving on to that lickable yellow, we’re told that the bodywork was completed by none other than Boxer Design, a French firm that, as far as we know, used fiberglass (though some say it’s plastic).

Bottom line, it might look like one of those used cars that toddlers stick in their mouths when they’re not supposed to, but we’re alright with riding a living rendition of the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” on a golden weekend eve – and hey, we just heard that Lambo’s going to be resurrecting the ISO bike brand for the recent future.  Maybe they’ll take a glance or two at this for reference.

2016 MV Agusta F3 AMG

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

When this sunny MV Agusta F3 showed up at the 2015 IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt celebrating the partnership between the brand and Mercedes-AMG, it was obvious that the bike sported nothing different from the typical F3 800 – nothing, that is, other than a nice paint job listed as “AMG solarbeam” yellow and a big AMG label schmecked on the side of the bodywork.

Still. It’s almost refreshing after seeing so many bikes with one-off parts – and many would argue there isn’t much to improve an MV Agusta F3 800 anyways.

As such, this Agusta F3 AMG sports the same 798cc engine, down to the 148hp @ 13,000rpm and 88Nm of torque @ 10,600rpm…and whoever did the media shots of these two Golden Girls needs a raise.

2008 Ferrari V4 (Concept)

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

The first of two concepts on our list, the Ferrari V4 bike is, according to RideApart, “not directly tied” to any specific four-wheeled beauty of the same name (I know, we were confused with this one too). 

A short bit of digging, however, and we find the following:

  1. That the project was, according to AutoBlog, designed by Israeli artist Amir Glinik and “modeled using a V12 engine from the Ferrari Enzo supercar chopped down to four cylinders.”
  2. Additional features include “hand controls adapted from an F-16 jet and controls inspired by Ferrari’s Formula One racecars” (We’re reading the fine print here as ‘expensive’).
  3. All of this, we’re told, is “supplemented by a weatherproof touch-screen LCD atop the fuel tank” as well as gigantic air intake vents on either side of the chassis shoulders…and the world’s most slippery seat (we recommend an easy 20mph if you ever get on this, max).

We’re not even going to gauge what price this will fetch, seeing as it has never made it past Glinik’s design programs…but if you’re looking for a bike to inspire future mods toward supercars (or away), this unit would very likely do the trick.

2014 Koenigsegg (Concept)

A view of a supercar-inspired motorcycle

The Koenigsegg concept bike, created by Russian artist Burov, is a smashing piece of power that seems to have taken the majority of its aesthetic inspiration from the first bike in this list (the Lotus C-01). Whether Burov intended for that to be the case or not is yet to be seen, though we know for a fact that he was inspired mainly from Christian von Koenigsegg’s gorgeous four-wheeled masterpieces.

The bike features a short, stubby tail (with just enough bum room in the saddle to say a short, fervent prayer), and sports bodywork that covers the majority of the machinery guts, bar the dual rear shock system and high ground clearance.

The end result? A futuristic cafe-racer with a modest wardrobe and a potential for speed, if that darn colour has anything to do with it.

If not, I’m sure it will look perfectly chipper in the cleaner corner of your garage, where you can sit on it and dream sunny, speedy dreams.

Drop a comment letting us know what you think of this lineup. Be sure to also subscribe to our newsletter where our main man Cameron Martel curates the best of the week’s topics, just for you, and as always – stay safe on the twisties.

*Media sourced from CAR Magazine, Top Speed, GTspirit, Car and Classic, Squir, Vanguard Motor Sales, RideApart, NMMT, Motor Authority, and Youtube.

1 Comment

  1. Frédéric Duffour
    January 18, 2022
    Reply

    The “Lamborghini” bike was designed by the famous designer Sacha Lakic for the “Boxer Bike” company (Lakic later designed some Voxan bike models). They got the green light to use the Lamborghini name from the then firm’s owners, the Mimram Brothers who were struggling to get the company alive, and were happy with any good use of the brand.

    It is supposed to have included the input of Claude Fior on the chassis, and a Ceriani fork in the front.
    “Pif” (his nickname) was famous for his work on aluminum chassis , then rarely used even in race bikes. He started by designing chassis for bikes he was riding himself in endurance, mostly with 1000cc engines. He designed a lot of very competitive bikes in different categories of the World Championships Grand Prix (250 and 500), powered with various engines like Yamaha TZRs and Suzukis.
    He later designed and produced innovative race cars like “formule campus” (a school single seater car used for young pilots). And later the Fior F99 (mini “C group” endurance racer using the same very innovative mono shock front suspension), built around the center tub of the Renault Spider (he was in charge of the conception of the aluminium side of the car). They had been used in China by his son who set-up there a race pilot school, and a monotype championship in the same country (I own one braught back from China).
    This links to the Lamborghini bike where Fior reworked the rear suspension, making it more progressive than the original “trail link”. It used a Fournales variable flexibility monoshock, and Brembo brakes.

    The wheels were tailor-made from Gotti on the Lakic design.

    Custom made, the bike was proposed with a Kawasaki 1000RX engine, but could be ordered with Ninja 750 or 900 engines.

    The polycarbonate “skin” came out from Yves Kerlo’s shop. This complete wrap around was rated high then and used on the Ducati 750 Paso and the Bimota DB1. BMW with its K1 and Honda with the 1000 CBR soon.

    The 4 in 1 exhaust was from Devil.

    Prices ranged from 45 980 francs to 57 980 francs for a “full option” model. That sounds resonably cheap for such bespoke bike, bringing in the range between a 900 Ninja and a V-Max.
    But….
    Because there is a BIG “but”.
    The prices were supposed without the part coming from the bike you were supposed to bring. Translate it as “prices without engine, carbs, cables, electric loom and dashboard”!

    Some of the Lamborghini bikes seldom appear in auctions. The number produced is unclear. But as far as I know, they all seem to have been powered with Kawasaki 1000RX engines?

    The French motorbike press tested one blue/black model and a red one. A purple one had been seen isn shows. With the yellow, that would make at least 4 one produced by Boxer Bikes. The “around 20” exemplars is the most widely accepted.

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