chicco
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2007
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- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
Wolfsburg, Germany â?? There are number of car makers who also produce motorcycles, namely Japanese manufacturers like Suzuki and Honda. There are also German car makers who are becoming more proficient in the art of the motorcycle, BMW a perfect example.
But what about a Volkswagen motorcycle: could it work? Would people buy them?
New reports from Europe confirm that Volkswagen will join forces with KTM - an Austrian motorcycle maker - to create the first VW motorbike.
It's still early days so we don't know whether the motorbike will be a sports bike, a super motard, a dirt bike or a naked street bike. But the prospect of a 2-wheeled Volkswagen has made many in the Web Wombat offices very excited.
Volkswagen and KTM have worked together in the past, creating the minimalist KTM X-Bow sports car. It uses a VW Group 2.0-litre turbo engine.
With ties already there, it makes sense for KTM to return the favour for Volkswagen.
Volkswagen also showed interest in a quasi motorcycle design in 2006, when it released the GX-3 concept. This 3-wheeled vehicle used a car-like front end with a motorcycle inspired rear-end, complete with a swing-arm.
The lightweight GX-3 concept was powered by a 1.6-litre engine outputting 138kW (185hp) that sped from zero to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds and had excellent fuel consumption (5.2L/100km).
Could this concept be back on the drawing board? Volkswagen's first motorcycle is most likely to be a traditional 2-wheeled vehicle, but a 3-wheeler isn't out of the question as the concept was fully operational.
Like BMW, Volkswagen will most likely try to differentiate itself from the Japanese motorcycles by incorporating technology into its bikes, and we could see the emergence of a 2-wheeler with a dual clutch transmission in the new decade.
But what about a Volkswagen motorcycle: could it work? Would people buy them?
New reports from Europe confirm that Volkswagen will join forces with KTM - an Austrian motorcycle maker - to create the first VW motorbike.
It's still early days so we don't know whether the motorbike will be a sports bike, a super motard, a dirt bike or a naked street bike. But the prospect of a 2-wheeled Volkswagen has made many in the Web Wombat offices very excited.
Volkswagen and KTM have worked together in the past, creating the minimalist KTM X-Bow sports car. It uses a VW Group 2.0-litre turbo engine.
With ties already there, it makes sense for KTM to return the favour for Volkswagen.
Volkswagen also showed interest in a quasi motorcycle design in 2006, when it released the GX-3 concept. This 3-wheeled vehicle used a car-like front end with a motorcycle inspired rear-end, complete with a swing-arm.
The lightweight GX-3 concept was powered by a 1.6-litre engine outputting 138kW (185hp) that sped from zero to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds and had excellent fuel consumption (5.2L/100km).
Could this concept be back on the drawing board? Volkswagen's first motorcycle is most likely to be a traditional 2-wheeled vehicle, but a 3-wheeler isn't out of the question as the concept was fully operational.
Like BMW, Volkswagen will most likely try to differentiate itself from the Japanese motorcycles by incorporating technology into its bikes, and we could see the emergence of a 2-wheeler with a dual clutch transmission in the new decade.
