LAND SPEEDER

Out of this world electric high performance need not be the preserve of expensive hypercars. Voxan Motors has recently set a clutch of world speed records with its streamlined Wattman electric motorcycle

- Richard Gooding

Electric vehicles can’t help but exhibit high-performance sensations. Waves of instant torque surge them forwards and companies such as Tesla make a marketing statement from this urgent and immediate motion. All-electric cars – and to a lesser extent – vans are now commonplace, but e-bike numbers still have some way to go to match those of four-wheeled machines. However, two-wheeled transport is impressively capable of showing a clean pair of tires to almost anything, too, especially when it has the backing of a successful Formula E team. On the last weekend of October 2020, a specially designed version of the all-electric Voxan Wattman motorcycle set 11 world speed records, proving that zero-emission record holders need only have one pair of wheels.

France’s answer to Britain’s Triumph, motorcycle maker Voxan Motors was founded in 1995 by businessman Jacques Gardette. Its V-twin café racer and scrambler motorcycles blended innovative mechanics and tubular steel chassis with Gallic style. The then Issoire-based company was bought in June 2010 by Gildo Pastor, president of Monegasque high-performance electric vehicle maker Venturi Automobiles, and a natural switch from combustion to electric powertrains followed. A series of world record attempts would headline this transformation, using a super high-performance version of Voxan’s Wattman motorcycle. A specially developed e-bike was unveiled on 1 July 2020.