Lazareth LM847 – madness on two, no, four wheels and powered by Maserati V8 with 470 hp, 611 Nm

Remember the Dodge Tomahawk concept motorcycle? Back in the early 2000s, Dodge shoved the Viper’s 8.3 litre V10 500 hp engine into a billet aluminium chassis rolling on four 20-inch wheels. Never intended for road use, hand-built examples did make their way into the US market, but in according to Dodge, the Tomahawk was “rolling sculpture” not intended to be ridden.

French outfit Lazareth has taken that idea, and with typical European flair, produced the LM847, which uses a Maserati V8, as seen in the Maserati Quattroporte and Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, and created a rolling monstrosity. With 470 hp and 611 Nm of torque, the V8 drives a single-speed hydraulic coupling, eschewing a multi-speed gearbox. We doubt if a normal motorcycle-sized gearbox could cope with that amount of stump-pulling torque, anyway.

Showcased at the Geneva motor show, the Lazareth LM847’s front suspension – designed by TFX – uses hub-centre steering, similar to the arrangement last seen on the Bimota Tesi. The rear-end features a rather interesting articulated shock absorber mounting, with rod-end bearings that appear to give some measure of movement to the rear swing-arms, presumably in a effort to allow the LM847 to lean.

Braking is with rim-mounted discs, something seen on various concept and production bikes, the most successful of which would have been the Buell Lightning XB9S. Brembo eight-pot calipers grab the discs, and with a weight of 400 kg suspended on a 1.8 metre long wheelbase, it is wondered if this amount of braking power would be adequate.

Lazareth is also responsible for other V8 powered creations such as the Wazuma GT and the mid-mounted, Range Rover V8 powered Renault Twingo Trophy. While putting V8s into custom-built motorcycle chassis isn’t new – Americans have been doing it to cruisers for decades, notably custom builder Boss Hoss – we feel there is a certain limit to how far we would go in the pursuit of power.

Test ride, anyone?

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