Two-wheel obsessives, start coveting. This is the Benchmark Confederate X132 Hellcat Combat, a beautifully naked bike with a massive engine that not only flies, but sets records.
How fast is it? Salt Flats fast. A few months back, the bike set a record of 172.2 mph at Bonneville, making it the fastest big block v-twin engine on two wheels. Confederate says that number equates to about 200 mph on the street.
You’d think that hitting that speed with a 500-pound motorcycle (plus rider) would be no big deal, but drag and engine size form a performance plateau that’s hard to break through. But what confederate has done with a V-twin engine used to be the exclusive parlance of superbikes like the BMW S1000RR – with two more cylinders. And with no aerodynamic fairings to cut through the wind, the real engineering genius is all in the engine, with a displacement of 2,163cc good for 160 bhp and 160 lb-ft of torque.
The rest of the bike is a monument to obsessive precision. The engine, transmission, swingarm pivot and frame are mounted into a singular core made of aircraft-grade 6061 billet aluminum, and Confederate built the transmission with a patented drag race powertrain, including a vertical stack transmission tied to the swingarm pivot. The chassis has 3-inch-thick steel tubing throughout the bike, all with hand-welded joints. Carbon fiber wheels (17 by 3.5 inches in the front and 17 by 6 inches in the rear) keep weight low.
All that engineering prowess commands a monumental price tag, with the Hellcat coming in at a cool $72,000 for the privilege of riding a Bonneville-busting rolling piece of art. But the price tag isn’t the real hurdle. Confederate is only producing 36 examples, and if you manage to snag one, you’ll get your name engraved on the gas tank so onlookers know who has impeccable taste and a thick wallet.
