Radical ‘tunnel’ bike tested before speed record attempt

British company aiming to exceed 400km/h and set a new electric motorcycle world land-speed record has released a video of the radical bike in testing.

The WMC250EV prototype uses a secret trick to make it slip through the air with minimal drag: a tunnel running through the centre of the bike.

Dubbed V-Air, the ultra-low drag system uses the large centre duct to force air through the motorcycle rather than around it, reducing wind resistance by up to 69% compared to a regular superbike.

Following the launch of the concept in June, the White Motorcycle Concepts Team has moved on to the testing phase of the motorcycle at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in the UK.

“We are very pleased that the motorcycle ran straight out of the box and we have found good correlation between our CFD [computational fluid dynamics] and the real-world test,” says

CEO Robert White. “As expected, we have uncovered some small technical elements for development, that we have been able to resolve and confidence is building all the time.”

The bike has a 100kW interim electric powertrain in the testing phase, but will use a 250kW motor when the team attempts to break the speed record at Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni salt flats in 2022.

The current 366.94km/h record was set in November 2020 on a Voxan Wattman ridden by former MotoGP rider Max Biaggi.

Apart from the speed record, the concept machine is very energy efficient. White says it allows you to go much further for the same amount of energy, making a tangible benefit on CO2 reduction.

THE CURRENT 366.94KM/H RECORD WAS SET IN NOVEMBER 2020