A British engineering shop is busy cooking up a wicked way to get in trouble: a liter bike with 280 hp on tap that can properly tear up any stretch of tarmac before you can blink.
The Aperion, from Oxfordshire, England-based Veloce Automotive, is powered by a bespoke 1,000 cc two-stroke mill with eight cylinders. Only a handful of two-strokes in the history of biking ever made triple-digit power figures, and this one goes way beyond even the Suter MMX 500's legendary 576cc engine that made 195 hp back in 2017.
It's interesting to see Veloce go with a two-stroke for this one. Sure, two-strokes can achieve a high power-to-weight ratio, but they're not great for meeting today's strict emission standards like modern four-stroke engines. Still, this one's approved for road use in the UK.
This stunning 323-lb (105-kg) powertrain features two banks of four cylinders arranged in an X configuration. Their diagonally opposed pistons fire together, so the combustive, inertial and rotational forces cancel each other out; that should make for a smoother-than-expected ride. The V4 banks are built around a 6-speed transmission housing with an integrated hydraulic clutch.
One of the distinctive features of a two-stroke is a large, curvy exhaust pipe whose shape allows for efficiently expelling expel burned fuel. The Aperion gets a beautiful laser sintered all-alloy resonance exhaust system, with eight tips that add a machined metal flair to the bike's tail end.
Zoom out, and you'll notice the Aperion is a quite a looker with a purposeful garage-built design. Its cowled single seat, low clip-on handlebars, and round headlamp give it a classic cafe racer vibe, while the snaking exhaust system and enormous swingarm draw your eye across the length of the bike. The metallic tank rounds things off with a subtly reflective finish.
Veloce says it's only making 24 of these next year, and Autocar India reports you can expect to pay £78,000 (about US$103,000) if you're quick enough to get on the list. I'd consider myself very lucky if I ever even get to see one of these out on the road.
Source: Veloce Automotive via Autocar India
