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LOTUS unveils their first motorcycle : C-01

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Kraftwerk

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Lotus has a new superbike called the C-01. Designed by Daniel Simon, whose work you'll know from Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, and Captain America, the bike balances the Lotus form of old with a decidedly modern finish.

Although Simon is better known for his concept work, and the C-01 certainly looks like a designer's wild fantasy, the bike will actually go on sale: the British company plans to produce 100 in partnership with German manufacturer Kodewa. Previously, the two companies worked together on a number of auto-racing projects.

"The design process of the C-01 was a labour of love," says Simon, "we have worked hard to create a motorcycle with very distinctive features such as a clean main body, an extremely low side profile, a bold stance, a unique air intake, logical partline solutions and clean graphics." Available in three liveries, including classic British racing green and the Martini colors, the 400-pound bike will pack a 200hp four-stroke engine. There's no price just yet, but expect the C-01 to be eye-wateringly expensive.

Via The Verge

You can find the official press release on the Lotus website. Seems like they worked for two years on this bike.

Press Release

I wonder if this is the actual bike Lotus had planned when they announced the motorcycle division a while ago. This seems more like a licensing deal for the Lotus name with a designer/manufacturer rather than doing it themselves.

BUT.....

...who cares. I SAID GODDAMN!

Pictures time!

You can find all the high-res images on the Lotus website. LINK

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Wow look great. Love the white one.

Not sure why but this randomly made me think Tesla should make a bike. That would be dope, I don't know anything about motorcycles really though.
 
So uh I just spent about 30 seconds before clicking the title trying to figure out what LOTUS meant in relation with the United States government and why they would have their own motorcycle.

Anyways, looks very cool.
 
Got an old race bike kinda vibe - I think it's the round bikini fairing. The rest of the bike looks like the intakes on an F1 car shitting a bike out the back.

Pretty cool - if I was a rich enthusiast I'd want one, but obviously not very practical.
 
I like what they've done with the engine cowling/bodywork. Has a certain British stroke of brilliance to it ... nobody else ever figured out how simple it was to just wrap the engine and keep the naked look at the same time. But while I'm just pissing in the wind to say so, I miss sport bikes that actually serve as practical transportation, i.e. BMW R90S. There's no reason for that absurdly tiny solo seat but style. Style should be the slave to function, not the other way around.

edit: should also say, I'm not an expert on bike geometry, but that front fork rake angle looks good for stability in a straight lines, but the bike won't be happy in tight curves. In other words, it's a cruiser.

For example, look at the angle of the front forks on this actual racing bike (which is made for tight handling at the expense of stability and comfort):

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Now look at the front fork angle on this Harley V-Rod. The Lotus is much more like this, meaning it will handle more like this:

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Still pretty though.
 
As a Motorcyclist, those pictures make my back hurt just looking at them

But like a Lotus car, they probably aren't going to be bought by people who ride them more than the odd Sunday a year, so I guess that doesn't matter so much to them
 
it looks like the King of the cafe racers, but personally, I'd prefer a RE Continental GT for that purpose.
 
For some reason I conflated LOTUS with POTUS and thought that a presidential motorcycle was being made a la Air Force One. I need sleep.
 
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