World’s Fastest Electric Superbike: All The VROOM, None Of The Fuel

World’s Fastest Electric Superbike: All The VROOM, None Of The Fuel

Electric vehicles are quickly making strides towards widespread adoption; just look at the Nissan Leaf or Tesla S. The same holds true for motorcycles, although these battery-powered two-wheelers are built more for urban commuting than hardcore performance. That’s where the Mission RS comes in.

Electric motorcycles have been on the market for a few years now. Like all electric-power transports, they offer fantastic acceleration (there’s no sliding scale for electric torque — it’s either off or it’s 100 per cent engaged), zero emissions, and are far less expensive to refuel than gas engines. They do, however, suffer a limited range on account of the physical limitations of their Li-ion power supplies. That’s about to change with the $60,000 Mission RS from San Francisco-based Mission Motors; it’s a superbike in every sense of the word and it’s about to bring the rukus.

The RS’s astronomical price comes with matching performance and pedigree. Mission Motors entered the prototype Mission R into the venerable TTXGP race at Laguna Seca back in 2011 where it proceeded to embarrass the rest of the field by finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of everyone else. The RS is built on that prototype platform. Its 160 horsepower (120kW) electric motor produces 180Nm of torque. You thought the Wrightspeed X1 (based on the Ariel Atom Jeremy Clarkson drove on Top Gear) was badass with its 0-100 in 3.07? The RS does it in three seconds flat, with a 240km/h top speed. It has an impressive range of 225km-320km and recharges in about two hours thanks to a 17kWh li-ion cell. “Even a short rest stop is enough time to add a significant amount of range,” Mission Motorcycles president Mark Seeger told Wired.

World’s Fastest Electric Superbike: All The VROOM, None Of The Fuel

“Motorcycle 2.0” as Seeger refers to it, goes on sale later this year. The gorgeous seven inch touchscreen display alone makes it worth the outlay, assuming you have as much cash as you do love for speed and the environment. [Wired via Cleantechnica]

Pictures: Mission Motors


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.