Final week, we featured the AMB 001 constructed by Brough Superior, a limited-run superbike designed in partnership with Aston Martin, that was just lately up for public sale on Sotheby’s Motorsport (SOMO). This week, we’re diving into one thing even wilder: a one, Ferrari-powered motorbike that rewrites each rule within the guide.
Often called the #HF355, it was constructed by Maxwell Hazan. Now, when you comply with the high-end customized fabrication scene, try to be conversant in Hazan’s bespoke choppers and extra. An engineer, artist, and downside solver, the L.A.-based fabricator’s work superbly bridges the automotive and bike worlds within the #HF355.
We’ve seen car-meets-motorcycle codecs earlier than, with builds just like the Dodge Tomahawk idea. However in relation to Ferrari specifically, we haven’t had a lot luck, exterior of the and the Maserati-Powered Lazareth LM 847. For many years, Ducati and MV Agusta, primarily based in San Marino, have been referred to as the Ferraris of the motorbike world, not simply because they’re Italian, however as a result of they exude that very same obsession for type, and emotion, that we’ve come to anticipate from Ferrari.
The #HF355, although, is the closest factor to a prancing horse on two wheels, and at its coronary heart sits a 3.5-liter V8 from the mid-engine Ferrari 355 with particular person throttle our bodies, constructed right into a bespoke motorbike chassis. Hazan stripped it of any extra weight after which constructed the bike round it. There is no body; as a substitute, every thing bolts straight onto the engine and transmission, and even the gasoline tank is structural. That’s how he was capable of hold the dry weight round 550 kilos, with the engine alone weighing simply 237 kilos in stripped type, in keeping with Hazan.
The inventory engine places out round 400 horsepower, and weight is 550 kilos dry (590 moist), and if we’re doing the mathematics proper, thats a power-to-weight ratio of ~1.47 lbs/hp, which on paper, ought to make it one of the vital excessive efficiency machines ever constructed. For some context, that’s higher than an F1 automotive (~1.68) and on par with the Kawasaki Ninja H2R (~1.53). After all, with out the electronics, aero, and downforce of an F1 automotive or MotoGP bike, taming that ratio on two wheels could be difficult, however when it comes to uncooked numbers? It’s mighty spectacular.
Serviceability was a precedence for Hazan, not an afterthought .As a result of the engine makes use of a dry sump system, the oiling is packaged up prime, which frees up house, reduces complexity, and retains every thing accessible. Warmth? Not likely an issue. The engine initially lived in a 3,500-pound highway automotive filled with insulation, AC traces, and catalytic converters. Additional, a ducted radiator beneath the bike handles cooling, assisted by 4 computer-controlled electrical followers. The engine is managed by an MS3 Professional standalone ECU, operating an Alpha-N setup that’s superb for high-strung throttle our bodies.
Coming to the bespoke bodywork, every thing on the #HF355 was constructed from scratch. Hazan fabricated the beautiful bodywork in composite supplies, formed by his personal molds. He even engineered aerodynamic winglets into the entrance fairing. An acrylic windshield is molded from the unique prototype piece to create a seamless match. Nothing you see right here is off-the-shelf. Even the driveshaft and flywheel had been trial and error, and had been examined with totally different supplies till the correct steadiness was struck.
There aren’t any manufacturing plans, nor a pre-order record. The only cause that the #HF355 exists as a result of one man determined to construct it. Nonetheless, going by the feedback, it seems to be extremely popular and what elevates it right into a collector’s crosshairs is the way it features, as a result of what you’re is a completely operational, operating Ferrari-powered motorbike which will quickly be streetable, and listening to this factor come alive ought to put a smile in your face.
Picture Supply: @Maxwellhazan, @Iconicmotorbikes
