British brand Ariel has announced a sportier version of its Ace motorbike, calling it the Ariel Ace R. Based on a tuned 1,237cc Unicam Honda V4 engine, Ariel says the Ace R will offer a "substantial increase in power over the standard Ace".
Just 10 bikes will be made and more details will be available when the bike makes its public debut at the Motorcycle Live 2016 show from November 19-27. The limited edition bikes are expected to have unique colour scheme and specification.
"We'll release the full specification at the show but I can say that the R has a lot of carbon, a lot of machined aluminium and a lot of power," said Tom Siebert, head of the Ariel Ace Team.
(Ariel Ace motorcycles)
Ariel is known for making radical, high powered machines, both two wheeled and four, and includes other limited editions such as the Atom V8 and Atom Mugen cars. The regular Ariel Ace, launched in 2014, has 173bhp on offer with a top speed of 265kmph.
Prices for the Ariel Ace start at over Rs 2 lakh, so the "more powerful" Ariel Ace R is expected to cost even more. Like the Ariel Ace bikes, the limited edition Ariel Ace R is expected to offer the option of ordering four different seats, three different tanks, two front ends, adjustable footpegs, different handlebars, dampers, wheels, body parts, exhausts, fairings and even steering angles.
Part of the Ariel Ace's uniqueness is the aluminium frame, which looks like a trellis frame, but is actually machined from solid aluminium. The Ariel Ace comes with the choice of two alternative front suspensions - either a conventional upside down telescopic fork or Ariel's own girder fork. The name Ariel originally comes from Ariel Motorcycles, which was operational between 1902 and 1970.
