Stormbringer Superbike

The birds have stopped tweeting, the wind has died and the smell of menace hangs thick in the air... The Stormbringer approaches!

Tuned by German outfit WARM UP, the limited production run of the Asphaltfighters Stormbringer is based on a Kawasaki ZX-10R but features so much new gear it is hardly recognisable.

And you'd hope so too, because it's priced close to $100,000 (57,000 Euros). That's a little bit more than the $19,499 for the standard ZX-10R Ninja (not including government or delivery charges).

Unveiled at the 2009 Essen motor show in Germany on the weekend, the Stormbringer has the potential to create its own weather patterns, thanks to a boost in power from the standard 165hp to around 220hp at 13,500rpm.

The 999cc engine was fettled with help from a German bloke called Sepp Buchner, who extensively reworked the already modified top end. The four-cylinder engine has almost completely new innards yet there's no mention of turbocharging. Nevertheless, when you dial up the "booster mode" power rises from 220hp to a scorching 280hp.

The high power "booster mode" can only be activated above 180km/h, which sounds like a logical move to keep things from going pear-shaped. But what does all this power do?

Apart from being able to loft the front end in virtually any gear and peel the rear tyre clean off the rim, the Stormbringer has a top speed of more than 315km/h and can reach the triple ton in under 14 seconds.

The creators of the Stormbringer reckon it's the "world's fastest street bike" and though there may be some disagreement about this boast, there's no denying the bike's raw power and pace.

The badass Kawasaki uber-bike weighs 195kg with a full tank of fuel and takes just 6.5 seconds to reach 200km/h and therefore the 0-100km/h sprint time is moot (it's 2.9 seconds, for the record).

A reworked fairing features various fins to improve high speed stability and on top of super-trick orange highlight tyres, the Stormbringer gets a HUD, or heads-up display, which projects the speed onto the front screen.

It even ditches the mirrors and replaces them with rearview cameras whose images are displayed digitally on a small screen built into the tank. Streethawk eat your heart out!

As part of the package, potential buyers will also get a matching X-Lite helmet and Held suit (made from kangaroo leather, no less) and each bike is tailored to the riders proportions.

The Stormbringer includes an adjustable speed limiter to help riders keep things legal, and fully programmable traction control is part of the deal, as is a launch control system.

An Akrapovic end can has been used and lighting is provided by technical-look LEDs and a front xenon projector beam. The stove-hot custom bike rides on 17-inch OZ rims shod with Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 high-performance tyres "that transfer Moto GP experience to the road". They are sized 190/55 ZR 17 at the rear and 120/70 ZR 17 at the front.

The exotic streetbike get's hardcore brakes - hardcore everything really - a new look, too many engines mods to mention and plenty more new bits, all of which you can read about on the Asphaltfighters website Asphaltfighters website.

One of the most expensive and most powerful street bikes every created, the Stormbringer is available in Europe only at the moment, and in very limited numbers.