image of carbon-fibre fuel tank.
CULLED FROM 
Motorcycle design is
all about light weight and compact packaging - the two engineering
principles that were closest to the heart of Lotus founder Colin Chapman
- so it's not all that far out in left field that the brand is working
on its first motorcycle, to be called the Lotus C-01.
Lotus Motorcycles is a joint
project of Japanese racing car company Kodewa, car designer Daniel Simon
and specialised motorsport component manufacturer Holzer.
Without giving any details, it
says the C-01 will be made of carbon fibre, titanium and aerospace
quality steel, with an engine of about 149kW - which probably means a
high-revving litre-class four - using a lot of Formula One technology.
Kodewa, which has an extensive
background in Formula One, German Touring Car and endurance racing, is
responsible for the new Lotus T128 LMP2 racing car and is running the
Lotus LMP2 programme in the World Endurance championship.
FUTURISTIC CONCEPT VEHICLES
Holzer subsidiary Performance GmbH
specialises in small production runs of precision components made on
CNC machine tools directly linked to CAM workstations.
IMAGE OF Pevious motorcycle design by Daniel Simon was the Tron Lightcycle.
.Simon,
a former designer for Bugatti, has more recently been responsible for
some of the most futuristic concept vehicles in Hollywood films,
including the 'Lightcycle' in Tron: Legacy and the Bubbleship used by
Tom Cruise in the recent science-fiction film Oblivion.
He has described the C-01 as "a
high-tech monster in a tailored suit, emotional, at times playfully
retro, and always clearly a Lotus?".
Lotus, he says, is a glamorous
name with a rich history, and the C-01 celebrates that, taking
inspiration from the shape of the successful Lotus 49 and finished, of
course, in the black and gold livery made famous by the legendary Lotus
72.
The teaser above is apparently a
shot of the C-01's carbon-fibre fuel tank. Lotus has promised more
detailed images in the weeks to come; as soon as we see them, so will
you.
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