Video: would you ride this mad Maserati-engined motorbike?

By topgear ,

Someone call the Biker Mice from Mars, as the 470bhp Lazareth LM847 lives!

Lazareth 9

Sat in a lowly corner of a nondescript part of this year’s Geneva motor show was something that grabbed our attention. It looked like a Happy Meal toy, had a Maserati engine at its heart and couldn’t work out whether it wanted to be a quad or motorbike. It was called the LM847, a carbon fibre quadricycle suitable for the Biker Mice from Mars. Surely just another crazy motor show concept? Well, turns out it’s not.

See, we’ve received footage of it doing its bike/quad/quadricycle thing. And it’s a bit mental. Especially when you look at the stats. With a twist of the throttle, there’s 470bhp to play with, 620Nm of torque to torch the rear tyres with and freaky reverse brake levers to get your head around.

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It’s the creation of crazy French motorbike and car fabricator, Lazareth. Technically, it is a quadbike. But with the wheels sandwiched so close together, they act more like a single wheel ­– meaning you can lean it into corners like a traditional motorbike. But weighing 400kg and with a 1850mm wheelbase, four 17 “wheels and hinged bodywork connected to TFX suspension, you best hope it doesn’t topple over as you’ll give yourself a hernia getting it back up.

Unfortunately, there are no performance specs to go along with it. But a bit like the potty and similarly overpowered Koenigsegg Regera, we do know it’s got a single-speed transmission. And given a Ducati Panigale R produces only 205 horsepower and can go to 100kph from a standstill in just three seconds, we’re pretty sure the LM847 is no slouch. You just require a hefty set of minerals to try it. So, would you?

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