Aerospace technology meets street performance

FROM BANGALORE TO BALLISTIC — AN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE THAT CAN COMPETE WITH SOME PETROL BIKES

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

FIRST, A DISCLAIMER: The motorcycle in these photos - the X-47 Desert Wing - is priced ₹4.49 lakh, and not ₹2.49 lakh, a figure that became so popular on the day of the launch that it got this bike 3,000 bookings in just 24 hours.

The bike

Made by Bengaluru-based startup Ultraviolette, the X-47 is available in four variants: X-47 Original (₹2.49 lakh), X-47 Original+ (₹2.99 lakh), X-47 Recon (₹3.49 lakh), and X-47 Recon+ (₹3.99 lakh) - and a fifth special edition Desert Wing (₹4.49 lakh) that I tested.

Original variants have a 7.1kWh battery and claimed range of 211 km, and Recon variants have a 10.3-kWh battery (323 km range).

How's the design?

It's got muscular lines, angry face, 200-mm ground clearance, upside-down front forks in golden colour, and coloured dashboard.