Do you remember the Stark Varg? It’s a fairly new electric dirtbike that caused quite a buzz not too long ago. For a while, people questioned whether it was real or not, but the folks over at Stark Future proved it wasn’t all just vaporware.
The Stark Varg indeed made it to production, and we’ve seen it in action. No less than Isle of Man TT legend Guy Martin took the bike out racing on a flat-track course by the seaside. Oh, and the Varg also took a win at the British Arenacross Championship. So yeah, the Stark Varg is real, and it’s seriously capable.
With all that being said, with a machine this powerful, you knew it was only a matter of time until folks would customize and modify this thing. And this is exactly what went down over at Critical, a YouTube channel that does all sorts of crazy powersports stuff. The folks over at Critical went full-on mad scientist on it, hacking out the Varg’s electric motor and slapping it into a go-kart.
They did all this with one thing in mind: go really, really, fast.
Now, in case you weren’t aware, the Stark Varg’s motor pumps out a whopping 691 pound-feet of torque and a respectable 80 horsepower—by no means kid stuff, and way more than enough to get you into some serious trouble. And so to add a layer of safety—if you could even say that safety was even part of the equation—quite a lot of work had to be done to make sure this thing ran right.
And so, the team had to beef up the kart’s frame to handle all that power. Custom battery mounts, reinforced motor mounts, and a custom drivetrain all had to be fabricated. Clearly, the folks at Critical knew a thing or two about custom builds, as they work out of a fully equipped workshop. They seemed to make quick work of all the fabrication jobs, putting the monster go-kart together at a rapid pace.
And when they finally “fired it up,” it was quite an odd thing to watch, to say the least. Instead of the usual roar of a piston engine, you get the whir of a water pump for the liquid-cooled motor-battery setup. With the thing propped up on blocks of wood, a press of the accelerator would make the rear wheels spin extremely fast, even flinging some debris onto the cameraman’s face.
When time came for the first road test, things didn’t exactly go according to plan. The torque from the motor twisted the custom motor mounts, causing the powerful motor to come loose. And so the team ditched those mounts and welded them directly onto the frame, making sure it was as solid as can be.
When it was time for the actual road test, it was clear to see that this thing was an absolute beast. It was popping wheelies and tearing up the section of abandoned highway they were testing on. Heck, the thing even hit a top speed of 80 miles per hour. So yeah, this thing isn’t just fast—it’s downright scary, and definitely not for the faint of heart.
And while all this is cool and all, there’s definitely a bigger story that lies just beneath the surface here. And it’s that crazy builds like this Varg-powered kart are paving the way for the future of the custom scene dominated by EVs. With a motor as powerful and capable as the Stark Varg’s, and many other manufacturers in the running to make something similar, who knows what’s next?
I’d love to see a Varg-swapped Honda Grom. Heck, companies like Stark Future might even want to consider developing a full-on sportbike, something that’ll be tons of fun to ride on both the street and the track. Best of all, electric motors tend to be simpler to swap onto different platforms—quite literally a bunch of bolts and plugs—and so, it’s obvious that the possibilities are pretty much endless.
