There's a scene in the movie Torque where the male lead unveils the MTT Turbine Superbike, hops onto it, breaks through a pane of glass, revs the absolute balls off it, and then launches the bike down the road as if he were in an F-14 Tomcat launching off a carrier. It's a very silly scene, but one that brings me a smile whenever I think of it.
At the time of the movie's release, which I saw in theaters, I didn't know the MTT was actually a real motorcycle. I didn't know that it used a Rolls-Royce turbine engine designed for a helicopter. Nor that I could pay real money to the company and have one in my garage. I just thought it was an interesting movie prop ala a Tron lightcycle. Yet, the MTT was real. You could touch it. You could rev the balls off it and launch like you were shot off a carrier deck.
Well, maybe not the last part. That might've been movie magic.
But what's wild is that this is a motorcycle that's STILL in production, all these years later. In fact, MTT is celebrating the Turbine Superbike's 25th anniversary with a special edition model, because a turbine-powered superbike isn't special enough as it is. Seriously, I love that this insane thing still exists.
"Experience an adrenaline rush like no other on the planet!," reads the Facebook post announcing the special edition MTT, adding, "Introducing the 420RR Turbine Superbike 25th Anniversary Edition. It's been 25 years since we released the Y2K Superbike and changed the game. The 420RR remains the fastest production motorcycle on the planet...Announced on 2-5-2025, production is limited to just five bikes to commemorate the 25th anniversary."
The special edition 420RR is still powered by a Rolls-Royce M250-C20B helicopter jet turbine out of a Bell 206, making 420 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. ISR brakes, Ohlins suspension, Beijer's electronics, and BST wheels finish off the motorcycle's spec list, while the whole thing is hand-assembled with aluminum and carbon fiber making up the bones of the bike.
As for how fast it'll go, MTT says the 420RR is geared for a whopping 273 mph, though I'm not sure anyone's ever actually tested it in reality. Jay Leno, however, once said it was like "the hand of god pushing you in the back." So there's that.
Pricing for the special edition of the world's fastest motorcycle remains high, commanding a price tag of $275,000 a pop. That's expensive as all hell, but you'd get to relive that moment from Torque, blowing away folks in your wake, and shooting off into the stratosphere.
