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Are motorbikes the new supercars?
Langen Lightspeed channels supercar talent from McLaren, BAC and TVR into a boutique, British-build motorbike costing £44,000!
Words by: Dan Trent
Published on 12 November 2025 | 0 min read
We were only just talking about classic British motorcycle brand Norton reinventing itself with a little help from Jaguar Land Rover’s creative boss. And now we have this, the Langen Lightspeed – built in Wigan by a team of engineers schooled in British sports car brands like McLaren, BAC and TVR.
Hypercars? Yesterday’s news!
Begging the question, are petrolheads turning to two-wheels rather than embracing the switch to electric cars?
Something to ponder, but this further example of the overlap between cars and bikes and repurposing of homegrown engineering artistry from four to two wheels into an extremely expensive, limited-production and proudly British-built motorcycle is an interesting development. And no fly-by-night project, given it’s taken two years of work to turn the Lightspeed from a concept into a production reality. Rather than take advantage of limited production to swerve expensive homologation – the complex process of satisfying regulations for things like noise, emissions and safety – Langen has made the Lightspeed fully legit, even developing its own in-house traction and wheelie control system as part of the rider electronics package. All this effort for a production run of just 185 bikes, too. But an investment it hopes will pay off for the fact this will also open up export markets like the US.
Something to ponder, but this further example of the overlap between cars and bikes and repurposing of homegrown engineering artistry from four to two wheels into an extremely expensive, limited-production and proudly British-built motorcycle is an interesting development. And no fly-by-night project, given it’s taken two years of work to turn the Lightspeed from a concept into a production reality. Rather than take advantage of limited production to swerve expensive homologation – the complex process of satisfying regulations for things like noise, emissions and safety – Langen has made the Lightspeed fully legit, even developing its own in-house traction and wheelie control system as part of the rider electronics package. All this effort for a production run of just 185 bikes, too. But an investment it hopes will pay off for the fact this will also open up export markets like the US.
Lightspeed by name, lightspeed by nature…
To be fair the Langen is such an exclusive and beautiful thing it’s possible some of those stumping for the £44,400 asking price might just park it in the living room to gaze on it, and treat it as much as a work of art as a motorcycle. You could see why, and if they don’t have one already it would spare the complication of having to get a motorcycle licence to ride it. But they might be missing out.
Indulge us some numbers but the 1,190cc V-twin engine promises a very exciting riding experience for those brave enough to zip into their leathers and hit the road, this putting 185 horsepower down through a fat back tyre. Given it weighs just 185kg that equates to a power to weight ratio of 1,000 horsepower per tonne, which is perhaps a more important number when it comes to understanding how fast it will feel. To put that into a context bike-curious supercar buyers might understand even the 1,050 horsepower, 200mph-plus 849 Testarossa recently unveiled by Ferrari is ‘just’ 668 horsepower per tonne, its desensitising hybrid-enhanced technical overkill perhaps just the thing turning fast car fans to motorcycles. So Langen hopes, at least.
Indulge us some numbers but the 1,190cc V-twin engine promises a very exciting riding experience for those brave enough to zip into their leathers and hit the road, this putting 185 horsepower down through a fat back tyre. Given it weighs just 185kg that equates to a power to weight ratio of 1,000 horsepower per tonne, which is perhaps a more important number when it comes to understanding how fast it will feel. To put that into a context bike-curious supercar buyers might understand even the 1,050 horsepower, 200mph-plus 849 Testarossa recently unveiled by Ferrari is ‘just’ 668 horsepower per tonne, its desensitising hybrid-enhanced technical overkill perhaps just the thing turning fast car fans to motorcycles. So Langen hopes, at least.
