Our motorcycling world has been populated by desirable, expensive and exclusive machinery since the pioneering days, most notably in the interwar years when George Brough’s ‘Brough Superior’ motorcycles filled the role of the ‘two-wheeled Rolls Royce’.
From Bimotas to (reborn) Nortons, Archs, Ariels and Metisse… boutique builders have been trying to woo rich buyers with low volume masterpieces for years. And, over a decade ago, it was German company Horex who were trying to grab headlines with a Top Trumps winning roadster, the VR6.
Big numbers and novel engineering are the forte of low volume manufacturers and, when it was announced in 2010, the Horex’s USP was an intricately designed supercharged V6 engine claiming 200bhp.
Horex was a motorcycle brand which was founded in 1923 but which had been dormant since 1960. Engineer Clemens Neese, with designer Peter Naumann (who was most famous for penning the quirky BMW C1 scooter) and businessman Frank Fischer, set about reviving the name with a roadster built around a new 1218cc engine which took its inspiration from Volkswagen’s VR6 motor of the time.
With just 15-degrees between the two banks of cylinders and despite technically being a V, the Horex was visually more like an inline six and even had a single cylinder head shared between the two banks. It grabbed a lot of headlines and had some interesting engineering, such as triple camshafts and a novel three valves per cylinder arrangement.
It was no wider than a 1000cc inline four of the time and was mounted transversely, in a traditional way. It was typically German in its precision engineering, and had a proposed price tag that made it premium, but not unobtainable, when compared to similar muscle bikes.
The plan was to go on sale in the Germanic countries in 2011 but, as with almost all of these ambitious projects from small companies, it didn’t really work out that way.
In the end, it was late 2012 before the bikes were ready for sale. By this time, the idea of supercharging the VR6 motor had been ditched – although the 160bhp naturally aspirated engine sounded glorious and didn’t disappoint.
Alas Horex couldn’t quite make the business work and, after filing for bankruptcy in September 2014, the company was taken over by 3C-Carbon Group in early 2015.
The new owners reengineered the VR6 and have introduced a number of derivatives over the years, with the wire wheeled Classic and low ‘barred Café Racer joining the standard roadster. The parent company’s specialism in building carbon fibre components has seen the VR6 get some fancy ‘limited edition’ (aren’t they all limited edition? – Ed) versions but so far none of them have officially been sold in the UK.
The bikes themselves have been pretty well received. The engine has been praised for its power and soulful character, while the chassis (although fairly heavy) can be hustled well enough in the right hands. The latest version, introduced in late 2022, was dubbed the ‘Raw 99’.
Priced at €49,500, it comes dripping with gorgeous carbon fibre and high end components, like Brembo brakes and Ohlins suspension. Horex said only 99 would be made and, according to their website, you can still buy one directly from the factory (or through their two flagship stores in Germany).
With a decade in (limited) production the Horex VR6 might not have had the briefest of encounters, however its small numbers and inability to match the initial hype (not to mention the fact we can’t buy one over here) means that this German kraftwerk remains an unfulfilled promise for us on these islands. An unrequited encounter, perhaps?
Specs (Raw 99):
Engine: 1118cc, 15° V-angle six cylinder, 18 valves
Power: 161bhp
Torque: 128Nm
Seat height: 740-780mm
Weight: 220kg (dry)
