American electric bike company, Lightning have revealed their newest project, The Tachyon Nb.
This electric motorcycle is a high-tech land speed racer that the company claim can reach 250mph+. This is Lightning’s attempt to beat the current motorcycle land speed record.
This electric motorbike has been developed alongside CBMM, a Brazilian firm who specialise in a unique material called ‘Niobium’. This material is said to be revolutionary for vehicle making due to its strength and light weight.
The Tachyon Nb uses this material all over the bike, from the brake discs, the charger and the swingarm. Using Niobium, the lighting was belt or educe to weight of the charger by 9 kg without losing power or overheating.
“This partnership empowers both companies to drive electric vehicle technology to a new level. Lightning’s vision is to continue to push the limits of what’s possible and promote the adoption of electric motorcycles globally.”
The name, Tachyon, comes from a hypothesis made in the ‘60s that a particle exists that exceeds the speed of light. Lighting are hoping to beat the current electric motorbike land speed record of 283mph set by Voxan motorcycles.
Lightning have a history of breaking records, being the first to break the 200mph barrier for electric bikes and winning the Pikes Peak hill climb in 2013. Niobium is a unique metal, that when mixed at 0.1% with other metals, it forms a superalloy that is incredibly stable at different temperatures and becomes much stronger.
Typically, its used in jet-engines and as a superconductor in MRI machines. In an electric motorcycle it offers added strength but with a lighter weight and can also be used in the batteries for faster charging and improved energy density and delivery. Lighting aim to set the new speed record at Bonneville, but unfortunately the latest Speed Week was cancelled due to flooding.