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Incredible Motorbike Is Powered By An Aircraft Engine

Incredible Motorbike Is Powered By An Aircraft Engine

Former Brazilain F1 driver Tenso Marques has wowed audiences at Daytona Bike Week with his hubless, aircraft engine-powered custom bike

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

Back to the Future? Or Tron? The question isn't whether this bike looks like it is lifted straight out of a science fiction film, but simply which film it has been nicked from.

Back to the Future might suit the story of the TMC Dumont best: while looking like just about the most futuristic bike going, it is actually cobbled together by much of the technology that went into a machine from the 1960s.

Oh, and that machine was a bloody plane.

Former Brazilian Formula One driver Tarso Marques is the brains behind the TMC Dumont, using a fifty odd-year-old Rolls-Royce aircraft engine to create quite possibly the best customised motorcycle around.

Marques himself calls it 'the most expressive event of customisation in the world' and I'm not inclined to disagree with him.

"It's a special project that I've been dreaming about for at least 15 years," he told the MailOnline.

Cover Images

"I did not develop it before because it was very difficult to realise it without technological assistance from outside partners.

"And I wanted this to be a 100 percent Brazilian project, without any foreign supplier.

"Everything in it was developed and manufactured in Brazil, from the painting to the machining of wheels and chassis."

It features what Tarso calls 'the largest wheels ever made for a motorcycle' and was specifically designed with the intention of provoking a reaction in everyone who sees it.

Cover Images

Well, mission accomplished - the 36 inch wheels are hubless and give the impression that the bike is floating along the road.

"It is practically impossible to remain indifferent or to not be impacted by the design and form in front of you," he added.

"We had to to open the entire engine and virtually redo it, from refrigeration, fuel pump, to machining of some specific parts.

"The idea was to make everyone doubt that it was a standard bike, but a prototype. And we really got that done."

Marques launched the amazing bike at Daytona Bike Week, at the Daytona Beach track in Florida, one of the largest gatherings of motorcycle enthusiasts in the world.

Cover Images

He was initially sceptical that it could work, but Tenso ended up winning the 'Best in Show' award. He hasn't released how much it cost to built or just how fast the bike can go, but I imagine the answer to those questions are 1) a lot and 2) quite.

"We had to to open the entire engine and virtually redo it, from refrigeration, fuel pump, to machining of some specific parts," he said.

"One of the rules to participate in the customisation event (Daytona Bike Week 2018) is that the bike must actually run and run normally.

"To everyone's surprise, I made it a point to arrive at the event by driving TMC Dumont. And it was very gratifying and fun to see the reaction of people."

Featured Image Credit: Cover Images

Topics: News