Two-strokes have all but become a relic of the past, pushed out by increasingly stringent emissions regulations. However, there are still manufacturers challenging that notion, and just this past month we saw Kawasaki keep that spirit alive with the introduction of the KX237. More often than not, though, it's small garage-based outfits and ambitious engineering startups that experiment with concepts like this. The latest example comes from Oxfordshire, UK-based startup Veloce Motorcycles.
What you're looking at in the image above is what the company calls the Aperion – presumably a play on the Greek word Apeiron, meaning something that is limitless or unbounded. And that is certainly one way to describe this motorcycle.
- Eight-cylinder, 1,000cc two-stroke producing a claimed 280hp at 12,000rpm
- Engine, chassis and transmission combined into a single structural unit
- Limited to 24 units
Veloce Aperion details
The X configuration allows opposing forces within the engine to cancel each other out
The Veloce Aperion is built around a 1,000cc, eight-cylinder, two-stroke engine producing a claimed 280hp at 12,000rpm. Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Described by the company as an 'X8', the engine consists of eight cylinders arranged in two V4 banks around a central gearbox housing. Reports suggest the cylinders are derived from the Aprilia RS125, with fuelling via eight 24mm Dellorto carburettors fed through a distinctive spiral throttle cable arrangement, running on pre-mixed petrol and two-stroke oil – an engineering feat not only to package them all into a compact space around the engine but also to tune them to work together efficiently.
Veloce says the X-cylinder layout was chosen specifically for a two-stroke because the absence of a conventional lubrication system allows such a configuration to be realised far more easily than it would in a four-stroke engine. It also brings a significant balancing advantage. Diagonally opposed pistons fire simultaneously, which the company claims allows the engine's combustion, inertial and rotational forces to naturally cancel each other out, resulting in exceptionally smooth operation.
The exhaust system is arguably one of the most captivating aspects of the motorcycle. Expansion chambers are critical to extracting power from a two-stroke engine, and packaging eight of them into a road-going motorcycle is an extraordinary engineering challenge. Veloce has addressed this with a laser-sintered, all-alloy resonance exhaust system. Laser sintering allows engineers to create mathematically precise and highly complex shapes that would be difficult, if not impossible, to manufacture using conventional techniques. The engine, chassis and transmission are also integrated into a single structural unit, which Veloce says delivers exceptional rigidity while reducing weight.
The bike was first shown publicly at the Bike Shed Moto Show in London, and commissions are available for 2027 with production strictly limited to 24 units, priced at a reported £78,000 (approximately Rs 97.3 lakh) each. All examples will receive individual UK Motor Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) certification for road use, meaning this outrageous two-stroke could legally find its way onto public roads in the UK.
Veloce is also developing a second model called the Ethereal, which follows a similarly unhinged engineering philosophy. It uses a 500cc four-cylinder, two-stroke engine producing a claimed 145hp at 12,000rpm, with the focus shifting towards lower weight, greater agility and even sharper handling.
Source: MCN
Ved Janve
Rishaad Mody
