Range-topping Italian Vyrus for $102K

If you get this Vyrus, you may experience symptoms such as extreme elation, adrenaline overload, and sporadic excitement.

The Italian-made Vyrus 987 C3 4V is a special bike in more ways than one. As you can see, the design is an interesting mix of form and function (but mainly function) with an array of go-fast components made from exotic materials and an unorthodox front end set up.

Apart from its 1198cc engine, borrowed from the Ducati 1098R, which is offered in a couple of states of tune, the new Vyrus 987 C3 4V is based on a new hub-centre-steering chassis that its Italian creators claim makes the bike's power easier to handle.

The big chief at Vyrus Motorcycles, Ascanio Rodorigo, explains that the rear swing arm was "hand bended and welded to be the strongest and lightest possible, the special bolts machine worked to save three grams each, the seat with eight mm foam to have the best feeling in drive.

"The carbon fibre everywhere, the fuel tank cap screw type, the bleeding system of fuel and engine vapour running in carbon fibre canisters, injection and ignition controlled by the most advanced computer, cable wiring almost invisible but the most complicated available, racing style dashboards, the best brakes."

The entry-level version of the Vyrus 987 C3 4V produces 184hp and tips the scales at 155kg.

But if you want the uber-hardcore 'Kompressor' version (that means it's supercharged) and don't mind getting it shipped over, you better be prepared for a power-to-weight ratio that the likes of Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner are used to.

Outputting an eyeball-popping 211hp and weighing just 158kg, the 987 C3 4V V sounds like a handful, and Vyrus reckons it has shredded tyres and stretched chains during testing. The company claims it is the most powerful production motorcycle in the world.

As such, advanced electronics are required to keep things (barely) under control, and the hub-cetre-steering mechanism is claimed to improve reponse the harder you push.

Ascanio Rodorigo, the project manager at Vyrus, and the same bloke whose company helped design the Bimota Tesi 2D, believes hub-centre-steering is the way to go with big power outputs. He told British mag MCN the unique chassis means "Everybody will be able to ride it without killing themselves". Good to know.

The Italian company hasn't speed-tested the new model yet, which is being touted as the most powerful streetbike on the planet, but in its most powerful state of tune the Vyrus 987 is expected to eclipse 300km/h. Not bad for a bike with virtually no fairing.

How much? Probably too much. There are cheaper, entry-level versions powered by smaller Ducati engines retailing for 33,400 Euros (A$53,000), but the range-topping world-beater is almost twice as much, at 65,000 Euros (A$102,000). And there's a waiting list several months long.

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