BMW Motorrad has dropped jaws at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d’Este with a spectacular new concept motorcycle – a glimpse at the future of the barnstorming M1000RR superbike on which Toprak Razgatlıoğlu stoppied his way to the 2024 WSBK championship title.
Under an especially beautiful carbon fiber fairing lurks an inline four engine punching out over 230 hp (169 kW) of electronically refined hellfire. Multi-level traction control, wheelie control, engine brake management, power modes... All of which you'd find on the previous generation M1000RR and S1000RR, and none of which is particularly interesting on a concept.
But the design itself does feel like a departure for the Bavarians. BMW has gone nuts with the aluminum and carbon fiber, creating an aggressively angular profile with a ventilated tail section similar to Yamaha's R1 and R6, presumably to shave weight and make it a little more slippery in a full tuck ... though BMW hasn't released any weight specs yet.
BMW engineers put a significant amount of focus on the aeros here, chasing "riding stability at very high speeds," "maximum cornering speeds," and "minimal air resistance for optimal top speed," according to a press release.
Historically, most sport bikes have been about as aerodynamic as a 160-mph brick, especially with the awkward shape of a rider on top. In the more recent age of winglets and wind tunnels, aero profiles have evolved to cut drag and put more of a focus on front-end downforce. The current-model M1000RR runs a comically-huge moustache of a wing system up front, but this new concept keeps things a little more visually restrained.
Outside of the horsepower figures, not much has been said about the Concept RR's specs, but to put its 230-plus horsepower in context, the current-model Beemer superbike sits at 435 lb (197.3 kg) dry with the top-spec M shaving off a few pounds at 426.6 (193.5 kg).
The previous S1000RR and M1000RR make 206 and 214 hp (154/159 kW) respectively, and both peak at 83.4 lb-ft (113 Nm) of torque. The racier M makes its extra power thanks to higher compression at 14.5:1, as opposed to the streetier S1KRR at 13.3:1.
The M also got slightly larger throttle bodies (52 mm vs 48 mm) to turn air into fire, titanium valves for that extra panache, and a 200-series rear tire over the 190 on the S – a little extra meat for putting down that power.
Outside of that, the two models were largely the same. 320 mm rotors up front and 220 mm on the rear. "M" branded 4-piston calipers for the more track-focused bike, but the S still had 4-pots as well, sans the fancy M logo. Both bikes have fully adjustable suspension front and rear, with 120 mm and 118 mm of travel respectively. The only real dimensional difference is the seat height: the S is a noob-friendlier 32.7 inches tall (832 mm), whereas the track scalpel is pretty tall at 34 inches (865 mm).
Most of the weight saving on the 2025 M100RR comes from its M Carbon wheels. The S comes stock with cast aluminum wheels, but for an extra couple grand, you could get the optional M forged or M Carbon wheels.
I've turned a fair few track laps over the years on the S1000RR. The first-gen model, inspired by the K5 GSX-R1000, might have been a peach on the street (and it's still a machine that Loz Blain credits for saving his skin in one of the wildest close calls we've ever seen on camera), but I wasn't personally blown away by its racetrack prowess out of the box.
It's improved out of sight since then – and while Razgatlıoğlu's WSBK rider's championship last year is the first time in the modern era that a BMW has beaten the world's best in a road racing series, Toprak's in an excellent position to take it again in 2025.
"Never before has BMW Motorrad provided such an early glimpse into a future generation of the RR models," said Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad, in BMW Motorrad's most recent press release.
The release doesn't tell us much else, but we're not mad. Whatever it ends up looking like with mirrors and indicators and license plates on it, this concept is an early look at the 6th generation of BMW's flagship wheelie-happy literbike.
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Source: BMW Motorrad