This Ultra-Sleek Hubless Motorcycle Is Powered By an Actual Aircraft Engine

Yes, this is a real thing.

Maxim Staff

Jul 17, 2018

There are hundreds of crazy concept bike renderings that, sadly, are never built into reality. The Tarso Marques Concept Dumont is among the most radical designs we’ve ever seen… and it actually exists.

The savagely powerful two-wheeler is the brainchild of Tarso Marques, a Brazilian-born former Formula One racer and award-winning custom motorcycle creator. Its roar comes courtesy of a 300-horsepower Rolls-Royce engine from a damn helicopter. As one would expect, transplanting a power plant designed for aviation created a logistical nightmare.

“We found this engine of the 1960s totally finished in an air club in Paraná,” Marques said on his website. “As in aviation all systems are redundant and more complex, reworking the entire engine and standardizing it to run more simply on a motorcycle has demanded more time.”

Its continuously variable transmission was also developed and manufactured from scratch. The pair of machined hubless 36-inch wheels are the largest ever equipped on a motorcycle, according to Marques.

For all its borderline-absurd components, the TMC Dumont has a surprisingly elegant aesthetic that’s both balanced and fluid.

For Marques, the futuristic bike is a huge achievement for TMC and serves as an outstanding example of Brazilian ingenuity.

“My greatest motivation was to show the Americans our capacity for creation and innovation with a 100% national project,” he said. “And I think these trophies of the photos respond well to this doubt and prove that not only did we succeed, but that the dream was worth it.”