This Is The World's Fastest Bike
That's right, a bike. It looks like it doesn't have wheels or a driver, but the Arion 1, designed by eight engineering students at the University of Liverpool, is encased in an aerodynamic shell that has been designed with an inverted teardrop shape to allow it to cut through the air as easily as possible.
Here are some more photos of the Arion 1:
Here's the Arion 1 from the back:
Currently, the record for the fastest exotic engineered bike is 83.1 miles an hour as held by the Dutch-made XeloX3.
The Arion 1 is currently in the design stage, but its engineers project it to be able to reach speeds up to 90mph.
This is how fast that looks. These GIFs are of the Xelox 3, which holds the record for fastest exotic engineered bike.
The Xelox 3 traveling at 83.1 mph:
And slowed down:
The Arion 1 will be faster.
The ULV Team believes that the Arion 1 will be able to break top speeds, while also protecting the rider inside from getting bugs in his or her teeth.
A bicyclist has to lie down Inside the Arion 1. With the rider as low as possible to the ground, the Arion 1 will be able to cut down on wind resistance. Since the driver is fully enclosed in the aerodynamic shell, there's no way for him or her to see outside, requiring a video camera system to steer.
It will take some muscular calves to get the Arion 1 up to top speed: the ULV Team anticipates that for a rider to reach 90-plus miles an hour, he or she will need to generate up to 700 watts of power
Right now, the ULV Team is building a prototype of the Arion 1 called the Arion 0, which they hope will help them identify any kinks in the design.
The team has to have the Arion 1 ready go to by May 2015 to have a shot at breaking the record.