Radical Exhaust Pipes on BMW’s Vision K18 Concept Look Like Starship Thrusters

BMW Motorrad trotted out a spectacular one-off concept (they call it a “vision bike”) at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como this weekend. The thing looks like something out of a comic book. The Vision K18 a little bit Metropolis streamliner-looking up front, but the way the exhaust pipes snake through the bodywork and share space with the taillights is really interesting and cool.

This vehicle is officially dubbed Vision K18. BMW says that the notion of “The Heat of Speed” was the central theme the design was made around. It’s a touring bike powered by BMW’s venerated 1800cc inline six, but this concept is more about communicating abstract ideas than the near future of BMW design. Powertrain-wise, the R18 heritage-line bikes are the production-version of this concept. But stylistically, nothing in BMW’s real-world lineup looks anything quite like this (which, of course, is the whole idea).

The fairing almost looks like a functional extension of the engine rather than just a protective shroud. It kind of blurs the line between where the powertrain ends and the body begins. It’s supposedly inspired by supersonic aviation, too. But I see retro-futuristic sci-fi, personally (in a good way).

The exhaust is particularly neat-looking. The way the headers twist upward from below the rider is nice, but the coolest part to me is at the back, where the taillights and exhaust tips effectively occupy the same space. This creates a very spaceship-thruster look that is incredibly dramatic. And having one exhaust tip per cylinder certainly helps give the plumbing a strong visual presence.

BMW’s press release describes it: “A deliberately employed heat-haze effect makes the power of the inline six-cylinder visible and translates performance into an emotionally tangible image. The chosen stage is intentionally a runway setting, reflecting both the aviation inspiration as well as the theme of confident high speed and long-distance capability.”

Here, scroll through some more images of this magnificent machine:

Are there any other particularly dramatic-looking motorcycle exhausts you know about? Drop me an email at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.

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