Photo: Mikhail Smolyanov
Last time we featured concept artist Mikhail Smolyanov’s work here on autoevolution, it was a transparent motorcycle called Nu’Clear that used bulletproof glass as the main construction material. Not that it would have any connection, but here comes the bullet. The newest renderings revealed by the designer show a very aerodynamic custom motorcycle that is shaped like a bullet.
If you’re not familiar with Mikhail Smolyanov’s work, know that he is a custom-vehicle designer who has gained international fame with his unique car and motorcycle designs. Using an exclusive steampunk approach and a touch of retro styling, the Russian designer comes up with rather entertaining renderings with an extraordinary level of style and imagination. And the good part is that most of the designs he envisions are not only aesthetically striking, but also feasible.
The latest motorcycle design he came up with is dubbed eZpln, and its most distinctive feature is the hyper-aerodynamic form, which can be likened to a bullet or a teardrop. Aesthetically speaking, it looks like a prop straight out of a sci-fi movie. It is a blend of past and future, featuring a retro-inspired body with riveted sheet-metal panels and a pair of rather modern, or even futuristic, hubless wheels.
Taking inspiration from the design of old aircraft, the sheet-metal panels are bent into shape and riveted together. Though, overall, the aesthetic of the bike is ultra-modern, the exposed rivets ooze retro appeal.
If I were to make a comparison, while the Nu’Clear’s transparent body panels exposed all of the bike’s components, nuts, and bolts for everyone to see, with the eZpln, the designer took a different direction, hiding all the mechanical parts behind the sheet-metal panels.
Additionally, unlike the previous design, this bike features a dramatically sculpted and outrageously smooth body that would definitely help reduce any kind of wind resistance or drag.
If you happen to know Bandit9’s teardrop-shaped EVE LUX motorcycle, the eZpln might look like a retrofuturistic reinterpretation of that bike to you. And it may as well be an electric sibling of the EVE LUX, only this bike’s main body is way bulkier and more modern.
However, there is a big difference between the EVE LUX and the eZpln, and that’s the electric powertrain built into the latter. Smolyanov envisioned his latest design as an electric motorcycle, so the big boxy mass you see between the wheels is supposed to house the battery and the motor, connecting directly to the rear wheel.
Other noteworthy features we can observe on the eZpln include the dual headlight design, the pointy, batmobile-inspired taillights, upward-tilted handlebars, and a black seat that is sculpted right into the bullet-shaped body.
Though it’s only a virtual presence, it’s really nice to see how the fluid, round shapes combine to make the eZpln bike come together nicely.
The latest motorcycle design he came up with is dubbed eZpln, and its most distinctive feature is the hyper-aerodynamic form, which can be likened to a bullet or a teardrop. Aesthetically speaking, it looks like a prop straight out of a sci-fi movie. It is a blend of past and future, featuring a retro-inspired body with riveted sheet-metal panels and a pair of rather modern, or even futuristic, hubless wheels.
Taking inspiration from the design of old aircraft, the sheet-metal panels are bent into shape and riveted together. Though, overall, the aesthetic of the bike is ultra-modern, the exposed rivets ooze retro appeal.
If I were to make a comparison, while the Nu’Clear’s transparent body panels exposed all of the bike’s components, nuts, and bolts for everyone to see, with the eZpln, the designer took a different direction, hiding all the mechanical parts behind the sheet-metal panels.
Additionally, unlike the previous design, this bike features a dramatically sculpted and outrageously smooth body that would definitely help reduce any kind of wind resistance or drag.
If you happen to know Bandit9’s teardrop-shaped EVE LUX motorcycle, the eZpln might look like a retrofuturistic reinterpretation of that bike to you. And it may as well be an electric sibling of the EVE LUX, only this bike’s main body is way bulkier and more modern.
However, there is a big difference between the EVE LUX and the eZpln, and that’s the electric powertrain built into the latter. Smolyanov envisioned his latest design as an electric motorcycle, so the big boxy mass you see between the wheels is supposed to house the battery and the motor, connecting directly to the rear wheel.
Other noteworthy features we can observe on the eZpln include the dual headlight design, the pointy, batmobile-inspired taillights, upward-tilted handlebars, and a black seat that is sculpted right into the bullet-shaped body.
Though it’s only a virtual presence, it’s really nice to see how the fluid, round shapes combine to make the eZpln bike come together nicely.
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