2017 looks set to become the year of lavish, exclusive supermodels that most of us can merely dream of owning – whilst reaching for the tissues. Joining such extravagances as the Superleggera, Norton V4 and Ariel Ace R, the latest entrants are Spirit Motorcycles’ GP-Sport and GP-Street: hand-built British beauties that will surely go as well as they look given the numbers, because they sure as fuck look like 250mph motorcycles drizzled in sex wee.
180bhp and 140kg. Just process that nugget for a second. That, right there, is a formula for lunacy and it’s all composed here in Blighty consuming UK components. The GP-Sport is pure racer, while the GP-Street is a naughty naked roadster and both share the same fundamentals.
Using the engineering tekkers and Triumph knowledge of Tony Scott’s T3 Racing, and custom bike builders Spirit of the Seventies, Spirit Motorcycles has taken a heavily modified Triumph 675 three-pot, stroked it to produce 750cc and a claimed 180bhp, and garnished with superbike-spec Motec M130 ECU and consequent electronics. And there’s a 15,000rpm redline to obliterate those ear drums arouse the senses.
Just how T3 Racing has managed to get 180bhp from a Triumph engine, we’ll probably never know, and if we did, Tony would send round some heavies for a dust up and an episode of horses heads. They’re notoriously fragile engines in higher states of tune, but if there’s a man to cajole the ponies from a Trumpet motor, it’ll be Mr Scott.
Both bikes feature a fully adjustable chassis, with headstock and swingarm offering different levels of geometry tweaks. The frame itself – used in all four models – is a steel alloy tubular construction and looks very prototype-esque with its brazed execution. In keeping with the UK theme, British workings from K-Tech, Dymag and other parties adorn the GP-Sport and Street. Other bolt-on options include…
- Full titanium exhaust system
- Pre-preg carbon painted to your design
- Samco hoses
- Bosch electronically-controlled slipper clutch
- Brembo HPK discs
- PFM discs/six-pot calipers
- Dymag carbon or forged rims
At £64,999 (+VAT), the R models are, erm, expensive but that’s the price to pay for high-end, hand-built exotica. With their hefty spec’ and open book for personalisation, the R models will also be limited to just 50 units. The base models ‘only’ have 156bhp, weigh 150kg wet and will cost you £45,000 (+VAT). An optional ‘Track Pack’ includes tasty little numbers such as anti-wheelie, K-Tech KTR3 forks and additional electronics, which tallies to another £10k, and the GP-Sport R is set to be raced by Dean Ellison in the British Supersport championship as a separate entity, which we still can’t quite fathom. Must be a promotional exercise.
And the question is: why hasn’t Triumph done something similar, albeit to a modest scale? And the other question is: when can we ride it?
