Lazareth. Still insane.
Hands up if you’re in the market for a leaning quad with a 470hp V8…
LUDOVIC Lazareth has built a name for his eponymous firm making some of the craziest bikes, trikes and quads ever seen and for this year’s Geneva Motor Show he’s pulled out all the stops.
The result is this, the LM847, a leaning four-wheeler powered by a 470hp Maserati V8 and with the tail of a Ducati Panigale. It channels the spirit of the Dodge Tomahawk (a 2003 concept bike powered by Dodge’s 8-litre V10 engine) and brings it up to date.
Let’s start with some numbers. While 470hp is all well and good, it doesn’t arrive until 7,000rpm. What you’d really notice is the 457lbft of torque, peaking at a mere 4,750rpm. Even with a hefty 400kg to lug along, that’s going to add up to some impressive acceleration.
In fact, there’s so much torque that the firm has opted to go without a gearbox – there’s just a fluid coupling connecting the engine to a single-speed final drive, doling out the power to both 200-section rear tyres.
The massive rim-mounted front brakes – they’re 420mm in diameter and use a pair of eight-pot Nissin calipers – act on 180-section tyres that are nearly as wide as the rears.
Whether or not this remains a one-off showbike or more are built is likely to depend on the pocketbooks of the wealthy clientele that will no doubt be at Geneva to see the launch of new supercars like the 260mph Bugatti Chiron, the Lamborghini Centenario and the Koenigsegg Regera. The fact that Lazareth can launch a machine in the midst of that lot and still get attention speaks volumes for the company’s crazy approach to design, if nothing else.
