This Insane Hypercar Makes You Ride It Like a Motorcycle. No Helmet Required

Motorcycle cosplay has entered the hypercar chat.

Photo by: Sanrivatti

By: Enrico Punsalang

Jun 26, at 7:02am ET

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There are plenty of people who’d love to experience what riding a superbike is all about. The problem is that riding one comes with a pretty long list of tradeoffs. You need a helmet and riding gear, you accept a much higher level of risk, and unless your idea of climate control is “hope it doesn’t rain,” you’re exposed to whatever the weather decides to throw at you. For a lot of people, that’s part of the appeal.

For others, it’s a deal breaker.

That might be exactly the audience a Dutch startup called Sanrivatti is going after. The company says it’s developing a hypercar with a riding position inspired by a superbike, placing the driver in a central, forward-stretched posture rather than a conventional seat. It sounds bizarre because, well, it is. But maybe that’s the point.

Photo by: Sanrivatti

The easiest way to experience a superbike riding position is, well, to buy a superbike. They’re a whole lot cheaper than whatever hypercar Sanrivatti eventually builds, assuming it gets that far.

But you could argue that misses the point entirely. This isn’t aimed at riders looking for another motorcycle. It’s aimed at people who want a slice of that experience while keeping four wheels, a roof, airbags, and whatever six or seven figure price tag comes attached to the finished product.

The whole thing kinda reminded me of those goofy Vibram FiveFingers shoes (if you could even call them shoes). Remember those? They promised a barefoot experience while sort of still being shoes, and a lot of people couldn’t get past the fact that they looked like something a gecko would wear to the gym. Yet they developed a loyal following because they weren’t trying to replace walking barefoot. They were trying to capture part of that sensation without asking people to give up the protection and practicality of wearing shoes.

Sanrivatti’s concept sits in much the same territory. Motorcycles already deliver the closest connection between human and machine you’ll find on the road. A rider grips the tank with their knees, braces against the wind, shifts body weight through corners, and becomes part of the machine itself. Simply stretching a driver across the cabin doesn’t recreate any of that. The posture might look similar, but the experience is shaped by a lot more than body position.

Photos by: Sanrivatti

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That’s also why there’s good reason to remain skeptical. So far, Sanrivatti has shown sketches and big promises, but no working prototype. The company talks about redesigning the relationship between driver and machine from the human body outward, which sounds fascinating and even romantic on paper. But it also leaves plenty of unanswered questions about crash safety, visibility, ergonomics, and how any of this actually works in the real world.

Still, the automotive world has always had room for weird ideas. Not every enthusiast wants the raw commitment of a motorcycle, just as not every FiveFingers owner wanted to hike barefoot through the woods. Some people simply want something different, and if they’ve got enough dough to back it up, different can be reason enough.