The TMC Dumont is the most futuristic bike you’ve ever seen, and it runs on an engine from the 1960’s. The catch? The engine used to power an airplane.
The hybrid is the creation of a retired Formula 1 driver, Tarso Marques, so if anyone could manage such a powerful engine on two wheels, it’s him. Although looking at these particular wheels, the question still looks open to debate. Essentially spokeless and, at 36 inches, the tallest part of the bike by some way, I’m having a hard time imagining many motorbike manufacturers are lining up to copy Marques’ slightly bonkers idea.
That doesn’t mean the public aren’t in love with Marques’ invention, however. Twitter has taken the oddball bike to heart; perhaps because they don’t have to drive it. On a perfectly flat road, without any potholes or speed bumps? Sure, that sounds great. I can even imagine it being kinda comfortable so long as you don’t lean back too far and let the rear wheel turn you into a slightly distressing modern art piece, permanently affixed to the fast lane. But how many roads have you been on lately that are perfectly flat? The TMC Dumont is so low to the ground it looks like a small stone could cause everything the come to a grinding halt.
But we can still admire the Dumont as a sheer feat of engineering and imagination. While personally I think it looks like it’s upside down, it really is undeniably good looking. Yellow-ish beige might not be your first idea when I say ‘retro-futurist motorbike’ but it somehow works here, and that might be Marques’ greatest triumph of all.
As you could probably guess from the ambition of the Dumont, this is far from Tarso Marques’ first rodeo in the realm of lust-worthy vehicles. Over at least the past four years, he’s been busy making vehicles ranging from the quaint and retro to the literal Batmobile:
Fancy a motorbike with great styling but with slightly less of a ‘death by spokeless-wheel-based-inferno’ vibe? Death Machines might not sound too promising, but their new Samurai bike might be what you’re looking for.
