Month: December 2015

With more power than a Porsche 911, the V8-engined Aurora Hellfire OZ26 is your neighbour's Hayabusa's or ZX-14R's worst nightmare come true

Vincent Messina, an Australian engineer and former superbikes and sidecars racer, who's currently based in Thailand, is apparently not the kind of guy who'd be happy with a regular 180-200bhp Suzuki Hayabusa or Kawasaki ZX-14R. So, of course, he's gone ahead and built a brand-new custom-designed motorcycle – the Aurora Hellfire OZ26 – which is powered by a 2,575cc liquid-cooled DOHC 4-valves-per-cylinder V8 engine. More powerful than a new Porsche 911 Carrera (which makes do with a meagre 370bhp), the Aurora Hellfire's V8 engine produces 417 horsepower at 9,500rpm and 319Nm of torque at 7,000 revs. Top speed is in excess of 340kph and while no acceleration figures are quoted, we wouldn't be surprised if the bike (which weighs 265kg, dry) is capable of doing the quarter mile in about 9 seconds. Vincent hopes to produce the Hellfire V8 in limited numbers at a state-of-the-art production facility in Thailand in 2016.

Apart from its V8 engine, the Aurora Hellfire bristles with innovation in other areas as well. At the front, the conventional USD fork has given way to a Hossack-type double-wishbone setup (somewhat similar to the Britten V1000's front end), with a one-piece carbonfibre upright and billet alloy framework holding an electronically adjustable Ohlins TTX shock. This setup provides the benefits of reduced unsprung weight, compression and rebound damping are electronically adjustable on the move, and anti-dive characteristics are built in with Hossack-type unit. At the rear, too, the conventional monoshock/swingarm combo has given way to a multi-link setup, which is supposed to provide anti-squat characteristics, which help boost stability and traction under hard acceleration. And with 400+ bhp, we suppose you'd need that, right?

The Aurora Hellfire ">V8 is also packed with electronics, including ride-by-wire throttle control, multiple riding modes (sport, touring, wet and custom), 10-level traction control, a Motec M1 ECU and Motec C127 colour display instrumentation. The five-speed transmission can either be operated by foot or via handlebar-mounted buttons. At the front, twin carbon-ceramic brake discs are gripped by Brembo GP4RX four-piston radial-mount calipers and ABS is standard. The bike rolls on 17-inch alloy wheels, shod with 120/70 (front) and 190/50 (rear) ZR-rated tyres.
Read more »