The Aston Martin team-up with Brough Superior seems to be coming along well, with new on-track video of their AMB 001 hyperbike prototype. Although there isn't much footage of the machine in action, it does whet our appetites for what's coming when the bike hits the market later in 2020.
The AMB 001 will join motorcycles like the Kawasaki H2R and Ducati Superleggera V4 as a halo product, with performance that exceeds almost anything else on the market and a price tag to match. At least, the marketeers want us to think this motorcycle is unparalleled. Aston Martin says the new machine will be a “unique, modern, lightweight and powerful sports bike concept, boasting exclusive technical features.”
Other Track-Only Hyperbike Options:
That’s mostly true; the double wishbone front fork and structural carbon fiber body set the AMB 001 apart in the hyperbike world, with a set of fairing-mounted winglets providing aerodynamic downforce. There’s lots of lean muscle behind that trick chassis, too. The turbocharged, intercooled V-twin engine makes 180 horsepower, and the bike's dry weight is just under 400 pounds.
Sounds like the AMB 001 should scoot along quite nicely, then—but Aston Martin is also paying lots of attention to the bike’s visual design. The marketeers want us to notice the “sublime combination of paint and bare carbon fibre that accentuates the lines of this collectors’ item.” There are plenty of billet aluminum and titanium parts as well, “as befits the Aston Martin and Brough Superior brands.” That comes off a bit snooty, but this certainly is very tidy-looking hyperbike.
Despite all that performance and beautiful bodywork, this bike is still not street-legal and. Aston Martin is selling this as a track-only machine. That sidesteps all sorts of regulations, but it might make some buyers lean towards competing Euro hyperbikes—maybe a Ducati Superleggera V4, or wait it out for a new Kawasaki-powered Bimota? Ducati’s latest-gen superbikes all make more power than the AMB 001, and they come with proven race track development from MotoGP and World Superbike. Bimota’s had financial troubles in recent years, but it, too, has superbike racing experience to draw on. So far, the rebooted Brough Superior brand hasn’t done anything that compares. While Aston Martin has decades of experience in high-performance cars, that doesn’t necessarily translate over to excellent motorcycle design.
That won’t matter to many buyers, though; rich moto enthusiasts will buy this bike because it’s cool, because it has the Aston Martin and Brough Superior badges, and because it looks good. What will all that moto-luxury cost you? Aston Martin says AMB 001 has a 108,000-euro price tag, with deliveries starting in the fall of 2020. No doubt they’ll sell all 100 models they produce.
Source: Aston Martin