MTT Y2K: The Insane Motorcycle Powered by a Rolls-Royce Helicopter Engine

Ever since the 1940s, manufacturers have been researching the feasibility of jet engines in road-going vehicles. GM introduced a series of futuristic turbine-powered concept cars, beginning with the 1953 Firebird 1. A decade later, Chrysler unleashed the Turbine Car on public roads, an experiment that ultimately failed. The next American-made vehicle to use such a powerplant took to the streets in 2000 and unlike its predecessors, it only had two wheels.

The company behind this bundle of insanity is called Marine Turbine Technologies (MTT). Based in Louisiana, it has been around since 1903, designing, engineering, and testing high-performance turbines, primarily for marine and industrial applications.

In the late 1990s, after developing some crazy jet-powered concepts to boost MTT’s image, CEO Ted Mclntyre decided to add motorcycle production to the firm’s resume. Although the idea of strapping a couple of wheels and a handlebar to a turbine engine was pretty straightforward, MTT had no prior experience with building bikes. To solve this problem, Mclntyre hired Christian Travert, the man responsible for some of the most outrageous custom-built motorcycles the world has ever seen.

By 1999, when Suzuki released the mighty Hayabusa, Travert and his team had finished developing the Y2K Turbine Superbike, and the company was ready for its official unveiling. Initially met with skepticism by bikers around the world who couldn’t believe that this crazy machine was real and fully functional, it was successfully put to the test on several occasions, and a year later, MTT was already building and delivering road-legal units.

This incredible piece of engineering was powered by a 250-C18 turboshaft engine initially designed by Allison in the U.S. but produced by Rolls-Royce since the British company acquired Allison in 1995.

It was slightly modified for motorcycle use and could spit out 320 hp (240 kW), almost twice the number of ponies that the Hayabusa could produce. Using a manual transmission was out of the question with all that raw power, so Travert opted for an automatic with two speeds. The engine was not fuel-efficient by any means, but it could run on a wide range of fuels, including diesel, vodka, or cologne.

Riding the Y2K has been described as a unique yet extremely frightening experience. As soon as you turned the key in the ignition and pushed the starter button, the thunderous roar of the turbine engine normally heard on airport runways reminded you that this was the most insane street-legal superbike ever built.

Those who were brave enough to try and push it to the limits managed to quickly achieve speeds of around 200 mph (322 kph). According to MTT, the fastest recorded speed was 227 mph (365 kph), but the company claimed that it could theoretically go even faster.

Apart from the courage required to ride one, owning a Y2K required a lot of money. The starting price was $175,000 ($278,770 today), which was a Guinness world record for the most expensive motorcycle to ever go on sale.

It was produced until 2005, and although MTT hasn’t revealed the exact production figures, at one point, they struggled to keep up with demand. Each Y2K was custom-built to the customer’s specifications and the list of owners includes wealthy princes and kings from the Middle East as well as celebrities like Jay Leno who rode his Y2K on the streets of New York in the episode of Jay Leno’s Garage that you can find below.

For 2006, MTT revealed an even more outrageous version called Street Fighter. It was equipped with a Rolls-Royce 250-C20B engine that made 420 hp (310 kW). The same powerplant was used in the Y2K’s successor, the 420RR, which has been in production since 2015 and is also available as a trike.