More of a piece of motorcycle art than a real, streetable or trackable bike, the first-ever two-wheeler to bear the Lotus badge is rumored to come with a very steep price of €100,000 (more than $137,000).
Now, thing is that the bike will only be produced in a very short run of 100 units, and is most likely intended for filthy-rich individuals who are more interested in looks and meaning, than in motorcycling performance.
However, until we get to see the Lotus C-01 tested properly on the track, the suspicions cannot be easily shaken off. Cooling and maneuverability are the most important issues the motorcycling world noticed when the C-01 broke cover.
The bodywork shrouds the KTM RC8R-derived v-twin completely and we can only hope that the whole front of the bike is a huge radiator, even so, cooling seemingly being an iffy matter at lower speed.
And speaking of speed, its the rather generous rake which makes this bike a poor racing machine. A brief glimpse of what a superbike's rake is like should be enough to raise an eyebrow when putting "Lotus C-01" and "circuit" in a sentence with a non-negative meaning.
While looks are clearly a matter of personal preference, performance is pretty much the same for everyone. Looking forward to the first test ride...
Follow this link for a killer hi-res photo gallery of the Lotus C-01.
However, until we get to see the Lotus C-01 tested properly on the track, the suspicions cannot be easily shaken off. Cooling and maneuverability are the most important issues the motorcycling world noticed when the C-01 broke cover.
The bodywork shrouds the KTM RC8R-derived v-twin completely and we can only hope that the whole front of the bike is a huge radiator, even so, cooling seemingly being an iffy matter at lower speed.
And speaking of speed, its the rather generous rake which makes this bike a poor racing machine. A brief glimpse of what a superbike's rake is like should be enough to raise an eyebrow when putting "Lotus C-01" and "circuit" in a sentence with a non-negative meaning.
While looks are clearly a matter of personal preference, performance is pretty much the same for everyone. Looking forward to the first test ride...
Follow this link for a killer hi-res photo gallery of the Lotus C-01.