Langen Motorcycles last made waves back in 2023 with the Lightspeed, a limited edition naked capable of a face-melting 185 bhp. It's now set to take things up a notch by turbocharging the heart of that beast to summon 300 thundering horses – with a view to make it the 'world's fastest production motorcycle.'
Citing turbo-equipped legends from the 80s like the 100-hp Honda CX650 and 112-hp Kawasaki GPZ750 as inspiration, the Manchester-based bike maker noted that "the Lightspeed already has the credentials to be a class-leading motorcycle, but the strength of the powerplant and overall design mean it can now be taken a step further."
The company says that its LS12 Lightspeed Turbo has been engineered to overcome the challenges associated with those bikes, including turbo lag that caused unpredictable power delivery, and difficulty managing heat and gas flow owing to the packaging the turbo units and intercooler systems.
That's thanks to ride-by-throttle, as well as a custom Electronic Control Unit and physical control system on the upcoming bike. Langen has already begun testing it on the dyno and recording output of 250 bhp. The team believes this machine is capable of hitting 300 bhp in 'full power mode.'
If Langen gets this right, the LS12 Lightspeed Turbo's power-to-weight ratio will be off the charts. The original Lightspeed already comes in at 0.454 bhp/lb (1 bhp/kg). I'm no expert, so please pardon my back-of-the-napkin calculations of what the turbo model might work out to.
If we assume the new components add some 34 lb (15 kg) – you'll arrive at a blasphemous power-to-weight ratio of 0.681 bhp/lb (1.5 bhp/kg). That's close to two of the fastest bikes you can buy on the planet: the supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2/R manages 0.719 bhp/lb (1.585 bhp/kg) and the extremely light, rotary engine-equipped Crighton CR700W comes in at 0.77 bhp/lb (1.698 bhp/kg).
It would handsomely outdo the Ducati Panigale V4 R's 0.625 bhp/lb (1.378 bhp/kg). So if my math is remotely correct, this one will simply fly off the line.
Langen is confident that it will be able to bring the Turbo to the Santa Pod Raceway's drag strip by the fourth quarter of this year. The company plans to make and sell only a limited run of Turbos, and I expect they'll cost a pretty penny. For reference, the Lightspeed costs just over US$46,000. Still, don't be surprised to see the Turbos get snapped up real quick.
New Atlas