HP King
Gazette readers with sadly uncluttered minds and dormant social lives will remember this post in which I spent an amazing amount of time and HTML coding to construct a table comparing weight/horsepower ratios for various machines (including Lance Armstrong). My exhaustive research revealed that on this basis, a Kawasaki motorcycle reigned supreme, with a ratio of 2.04 lbs/hp, handily beating out the $1 million McLaren F1 sports car.
Well, I'm here to tell you that a new king has been crowned. The unimpressively-named MTT Turbine Superbike sports a Roll Royce-Allison gas turbine motor that runs on kerosene or diesel, and generates a nifty 320 horsepower. It also weighs in at only 500 pounds, thanks to its aluminum chassis and carbon-fiber dressing, giving it a weight/power ratio of 1.56. Even if you go with the more practical comparison of weight-to-HP at the rear wheel (286), the ratio is 1.74, 15% better than the Kawa.
The motor produces an astounding 425 ft-lbs of torque, more than a 2009 5.7 liter Dodge Hemi V-8. Theoretically, all that's preventing you from towing an Airstream trailer on your next vacation is finding a suitable trailer hitch.
Even better, with a price tag of $175,000, you won't even notice that you're paying over $4/gallon for diesel (I have no idea what kerosene is going for nowadays). Perhaps Jet-B would be a good substitute.
So, who needs a bike like this (other than Jay Leno)? If you have to ask that question, then I respectfully suggest that you return to washing your Prius with eco-friendly water strained through organic linen recycled from Al Gore's used underwear.
Eric Knievel.
Posted by: Deborah at March 28, 2008 11:03 AMIt looks nice and all; but it looks like it would be hard on your back. Personally, I'm waiting for a Vespa that runs on used fryer oil. That way, when I take a job flipping burgers because I lost my not-lucrative-but-still-pretty-well-paying programming job for telling my boss what I really think of working 60 hours a week and hardly seeing my wife – I can just fill up the tank of my Vespa from the french fry cooker before heading to another minimum wage job.
Posted by: Foo at March 29, 2008 09:01 AMFoo, you've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?
But, it's good to have a plan!
Posted by: Eric at March 29, 2008 09:04 AMI had one of these with a trailer hitch to pull my Bass Boat. But, unfortunately, my wife made me sell it so we could buy a Wagonqueen Family Truckster. I thought we should have gotten the Antarctic Blue Sports Wagon with the C.B radio and "The rally Fun-Pack"."
Posted by: Joe at March 29, 2008 12:56 PMIt's considerably more powerful than my BMW K75RT and costs only about 2400% more!
Posted by: Jjordan at March 31, 2008 03:53 PMAbout the publisher
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Okay, I'm gonna hafta remember this nugget and apply it as often as possible:
"I respectfully suggest that you return to washing your Prius with eco-friendly water strained through organic linen recycled from Al Gore's used underwear."
Too steekin' funny!
Posted by: Rob O. at March 28, 2008 10:11 AM