CCRRUUIISSEE CCOONNTTRROL
A motorcycle with jets in its wheels. Nuff said.
When it comes to custom
bikes, the crazy French
engineers at Lazareth have
a long history of wacky and
extreme rides - in fact, you’d
have to be pretty insane
yourself to climb aboard
one of their monsters! But
they’ve just taken things
to the next level, literally,
with their LMV 496 flying
motorcycle!
Yes, that isn’t a typo:
Lazareth has built a
motorcycle that literally
flies! It is primarily modeled
after their LM847 bike - a 470
horsepower V8 machine on
four wheels - with some key
differences. They swapped
the road-going engine
for an all-electric version,
and each wheel features a
JetCat jet turbine - which
tilt outward via hydraulic
actuators to transform this
beast into a hoverbike with
a 10 minute flight time and
1,300 horsepower! Two
extra jets can be added near
the middle of the chassis
to handle more weight if
needed.
You can ride the thing on
the road, then when traffic
is too much pull over to a
suitable launch area. Simply
press a button to convert the
bike from ride to fly mode,
then wait about 60 seconds
for the jets pre-heat, and
you can lift off and leave the
traffic lights behind!
All the main wheel hubs
are built around jet turbines
thick enough to lift this beast
of a bird, with a ballistic
parachute mounted in eachwheel as well in case things
go wrong!
The entire bike weighs just
140 kg, and makes some 240
kg of thrust in flight mode!
It also boasts kevlar carbon
composite body panels, a
digital dash, and more. Best
of all, the Lazareth team
will be bringing the Moto
Volante to Gitex in
Dubai this October,
and will be actually
building five of
them at a price of
$560,000 each. Now
it’s just a matter of
making it actually usable,
affordable, and legal. Good
luck!