Auto motodinyuzhna: cars with engines from bikes and vice versa
Reasons for building a car with a motorcycle engine can be, as a rule, two. The first of them – reducing the cost of budget cars. If for our “Oka” they adapted a VAZ four-cylinder engine, roughly speaking, sawn in half, then foreign designers often used just motors from motorcycles.
Another reason for installing a motor engine under the hood of a car is, of course, a sport. Or rather, high efficiency of motorcycle units with their compact size and low weight. There are two ways. Someone is screwing a motorcycle “four” without significant rework (for example, the Yamaha YZR engine is used in the Russian Legends racing series), someone is turboing it, and someone… combines two four-cylinder engines into the V8 at once!
If we talk about the reverse side of the medal, about motorcycles with motors from cars, then in most cases the story is similar – this is the creation of a shocking High Performance Bike, that is, a “charged” high-speed bike. It is clear to anyone that plugging the engine from the “moto” into the car is still all right, but pushing, for example, the V8 into the limits of a compact two-wheeled vehicle is a real problem. That is why the majority of projects of this kind are small-scale, if not completely piece-based. But we begin, perhaps, all the same with cars.
Six cars with engines from motorcycles
Ariel Atom V8 500
Engine – V8, petrol, 3.0 l
Power, hp – 500
Maximum speed, km / h – 275
Acceleration to 100 km / h – 2.4 seconds.
Drive – rear
Ariel Atom V8 – one of the fastest cars on the planet, which appeared in 2010. He has a completely crazy power – about 910 hp per ton of curb weight! The body of the Atom is a spatial tubular steel frame, a lot of parts are made of lightweight composite materials and aluminum, and the hinged panels are made of carbon fiber. Gearbox – racing “sequencer” from Sadev. As a result, this Ariel weighs only 550 kg! But we are especially interested in the motor. This 3.0-liter V8 was made by splicing two motorcycle engines from the Suzuki Hayabusa superbike. A real monster weighs only 90 kg and gives out 500 “horses”! Total produced 25 Atom V8, all of them were sold for over € 100,000.
Perhaps you will be interested to know that back in 1996, Ariel Atom was just a graduation project of Coventry Polytechnic University student Nick Smart. Outstanding British companies such as British Steel, Tom Walkinshaw Racing and Lotus became interested in his idea, which was then called LSC (Light Sports Car). In the same 1996, the first prototype was shown at the auto show in Birmingham, and in 2000 the first production unit appeared under the familiar name Ariel Atom, which was initially equipped with a 1.8-liter Rover engine. When in 2003 the English car brand ordered to live long, the British switched to a 2.0-liter “Honda” K20A from the Civic Type R, developing up to 300 hp. In the US market, the Atom was sold with the GM Ecotec 2.0 powerplant (also 300 hp). All Atoms are certified for public roads.
Morgan 3-Wheeler
Engine – V2, petrol, 2.0 L
Power, hp – 68–82
Maximum speed, km / h – 185
Acceleration to 100 km / h – 7.0–6.0 sec.
Drive – rear
Another guest from Britain is the famous three-wheeled Morgan 3-Wheeler roadster, which has been assembled by hand since 2011, and it will take at least six months after ordering. This is a real English old school (the company Morgan has existed since 1909) with body panels made of duralumin and spokes wheels. The model of the same name was produced until 1954, and in 2011 it was decided to revive it. The curb weight of this “undercar” is only 500 kg. Therefore, the V-Twin motorcycle engine from the American company S & S is enough to accelerate a small two-seater roadster (only 3.2 m in length and a little more than a meter in height) to “hundreds” in 6–7 seconds (depending on the sales market, the USA or Old World – the engine develops from 68 to 82 hp) and gain the maximum speed of 185 km / h. However, the guys from the S & S say that the real power is about 120 forces, which, accordingly, improves the dynamic characteristics. The British are especially proud of the fact that this tricycle has a classic three-pedal knot and a 5-step “mechanic” from the Mazda MX-5. By the way, according to the British legislation 3-Wheeler is still a motorcycle: after all, it would be impossible to certify such a thing without ABS, a normal body and airbags – like a car in 2011. But now anyone can order this piece of real automotive history for about 40 thousand pounds.
Honda N600
Engine – L2, gasoline, 0.6 l
Power, hp – 46
Maximum speed, km / h – 129
Acceleration to 100 km / h – n. d.
Drive – Front
Now, few people know that the Japanese company Honda was once known more as a manufacturer of motorcycles than cars. Even fewer people will remember the model that had long been the forerunner of the famous Civic.