1,200-horsepower, 250-mph, V12 quad bike seeks world's fastest farmer (2024)

We were less than charitable when the 850-hp, V10 Engler Superquad was first introduced in 2019. When the 2023 version was introduced with an extra 250 hp, we seriously considered where it might rank among a murderer's row of the most terrifying vehicles ever built. Now there’s a new V12 model with an extra 100 hp and an extra 100 kg (220 lb) and... Look, if the animated remains of Mick Jagger can continue belting out its greatest hits night after night, then by golly so can Engler, and so can we.

The origin of the new V12 is unknown at this point, presumably it's out of a Lamborghini, AMG Mercedes, BMW or some such and will do what it says on the tin. At 1,200 hp and 1,200 kg (2,646 lb), Engler's new V12 will retain that near-mythical 1:1 horsepower-to-kilograms ratio that hypercar manufacturers aspire to reach, and it throws in 1,200 Nm (885 lb-ft) of torque as well, because, well, you might need to tow a horse float. Those things don't tow themselves, you know.

We still have some serious reservations though – because at the end of the day, this might look like a lobotomized supercar, but it's still going to ride like a quad bike. The outstanding Yamaha Raptor 700R is "one of the best-ever sport quads" according to Dirt Wheels, and it puts out some 40 horsepower. Engler has decided this machine needs 30 times more.

Sheer power alone needn't be a problem with today's vehicle electronics, but the quad bike platform itself remains a savagely compromised dynamic mess at speed. They don't lean over in the corners like motorcycles do, and they don't have seats and seatbelts and doors and armrests and center consoles to hold you in place like cars do.

As a consequence, the Engler may well have the grip to get around a tight corner, but the rider might not. Non-tilting double-track vehicles like the Can-Am Spyder are a harrowing enough physical experience to throw into a curve, with inertia doing its darnedest to keep the rider going in a straight line. The result is a wrenching force that tries to peel you off the seat to continue your journey alone, airborne, toward the sweet embrace of the foliage at the outside of the turn. Riding a Spyder like you mean it is not for the faint of heart or weak of core.

Moreover, the Spyder doesn't promise top speeds anywhere near the new Superquad's 250 mph (400 km/h). We expect that speed is theoretical rather than tested, mainly because we've never seen one taken much past idle in a YouTube video, but also because there's a large gulf between the amount of dribbling lunacy it takes to make or buy one of these things, and the amount you'd need to go flat-out on it.

But we'd love to see it tested. We tend to take a rather pragmatic view of super- and hyper-vehicles here at New Atlas. Engler promises "a cross between a superbike and a supercar," so we'd welcome a non-rendered, real-life video proving that this V12 superquad is capable of lapping any motor circuit safely at speed, or that it's capable of approaching four times the highway limit.

Of course, these things aren't about pragmatism or adrenaline. Let's be realistic; it's not a driver's vehicle. It's not for the mountain roads, the salt flats or the racetrack. It's for swanning up to casinos on when as many people as possible are watching – a chief part of the job description for many proper hypercars as well, I should add.

And as YouTuber Shmee150 proves with the original Superquad in the video below, it'll swan about just fine – provided you don't mind dealing with a turning circle best measured in weeks, and the fact that you look rather a lot like a kid in a Barbie car. No judgement here – in this modern world, any attention seems to be good attention. And this will certainly get you some attention.

Engler isn't saying how much the 1,200 horsepower Superquad costs, or whether it's ever made more than the three vehicles it's shown to date. The company says it'll be ready reveal the engine within 12 months, but it's prepared to disclose that the brakes are tailor-made 6/4-piston Brembos with carbon-ceramic discs, the gearbox is an 8-speed dual-clutch "micro box," the wheels are forged magnesium 20-inchers, and the carbon body sits on a carbon monocoque with titanium/ChroMoly subframes.

Jolly good, then. But we still want to see somebody ride one fast. Not me, I just planted some tomatoes and I have small children I'd desperately like to recoup some investment out of. I'll sit this one out.

Source: Engler