Lightning LS218 Is The World's Fastest Production Superbike—And Surprisingly It's Electric

If you are a fan of motorcycles (and even if you aren't) and maybe had a spare $40,000 lying around (like you do) and, you know, maybe fancied purchasing the world's fastest superbike, you could buy the Lightning LS-218.

The manufacturers claim this 200 horsepower superbike can hit an amazing top speed of 218 mph, making it the fastest production motorcycle on the planet.

And here comes the part that'll make you go "Huh?"–it's completely electric. Yep, no gas guzzling for this speed demon. When it competed at the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, one of the oldest motor races in the country, it took first place over the 12.42 miles climb, beating both gas and other electric motorcycles.

It's an impressive accolade. And it gets even more impressive when you look at some of the performance stats. It hit the record speed of 218.637 mph on the Bonneville salt pans at its annual Speed Week using only solar energy, and the makers say it can do a record run at a cost of $.08.

When Gizmag reviewed the bike (see vid below) they said "We've tested a number of 200-horsepower superbikes, but nothing - NOTHING - accelerates like this thing. It's excess for the sake of excess, like all the best motorcycles are - and it's beautiful."

There is one small problem though, it sounds more like a Segway on steroids rather than the monster exhaust demon you'd expect it to be. But would that put you off getting one?