Horex unveils V6 concept
Added on Friday, June 25th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Horex unveils V6 concept
There’s a V6, supercharged, 20,000 euro mega-cruiser concept bike being developed in Germany. Alastair Walker reports.
Horex of Germany were once one of the most innovative German companies making motorbikes, but like many small brands, a costly foray into the world of scooters during the 1950s efectively finished them off. A revived Munch-Horex made a 1400cc turbo-charged four cylinder model in the 70s, but it flopped. Game over, or so it seemed, until now.
Like Norton, Indian, Brough-Superior and many other names from motorcycling’s past, the Horex brand is being revived. The new V6 concept machine ha sbeen produced by a German consortium with a claimed 12 million euros of investment. Clemens Neese is the MD of the new Horex concern and with technical assistance from VW-Audi group during the development of the Horex 1200cc, V-6 format, supercharged engine, the prospects for the new bike look good on paper.
“We realized early that Horex would be a perfect brand name for our project.” Neese told the bike press last week, adding; ” The name and the company’s history complemented our vision. If the Horex visionaries of the past were still building motorcycles, these machines would be just like the six-cylinder bike we are introducing today.”
When Munch revived the Horex name in the 70s, they used an NSU car engine, with a turbo attached. Likewise, the new Horex V6 is estimated to retail at 20K euros, make serious power and will be launched at Intermot this Autumn, with sales in Germany and Switzerland only - no other markets - pencilled in for 2011. Horex say they expect to sell about 1000 units in total.
There’s always room for expensive oddities in biking, but perhaps the gorgeous Bimota DB5/6 sportbikes, Norton’s classy Commando, or the technically interesting Vyrus from Italy will find more buyers in the long run than the rather dated looking Horex. As Morbidelli found out back in the 1990s with their ugly duckling V8, it takes more than sheer engine power, or capacity, to sell a concept bike.
More at; www.horex.com
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