T12 Massimo Superbike, Tamburini's Last Masterpiece Unveiled

Massimo Tamburini died two years ago on April 6, 2014, but the Italian motorcycle designer left behind a design legacy which has now been resurrected and unveiled by his son Andrea. The T12 Massimo superbike was developed by Tamburini with his son Andrea, 'T' standing for Tamburini, '12' being his lucky number and Massimo for his first name, as well as 'maximum' in Italian.

Tamburini's motorcycle designs were legendary, and he was one of the founders of Bimota - the name combining the first two letters of the surnames of Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini. But it was Tamburini's stints with Cagiva and Ducati that gave him prominence as one of the top motorcycle designers of the world. He was the man behind the Ducati 916 and then went on to join MV Agusta, where he brought to life the MV Agusta F4.

(T12 Massimo)

After retiring from MV Agusta in 2008, and subject to a three-year non-compete clause with Agusta, Tamburini went on to work on his dream of the ultimate superbike. He started working on the T12 Massimo with his son Andrea. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, Tamburini handed over the development of the T12 Massimo to his son, before succumbing to his ailment. Andrea produced two prototypes of the T12 Massimo, which were unveiled recently.

(T12 Massimo prototype)

The T12 Massimo is a track-only motorcycle and uses the SBK version of BMW Motorrad's S1000RR inline-four engine which makes in excess of 230bhp, compared to the 199bhp of the road-legal S1000RR. The bike weighs a shade over 150kg and has dimensions similar to the last 500cc two-stroke GP bikes. Carbon-fibre is used throughout the motorcycle, from the sleek fairing to the airbox, intake runners, fuel tank and tail piece.

(High quality components on the T12 Massimo)

The engine is mounted on a steel trellis frame with machined billet aluminium side-plates anchoring the swingarm. Nothing less than the best racing-quality components are used, such as Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes. Available only on order, the T12 Massimo is expected to cost around 300,000 Euro (over Rs 2.2 crore)!