Warwick Team Debuts New Design of Aurora Electric Superbike

The design for a new student-built and electric superbike from Warwick University with a top speed of 257.4 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour) was debuted today, according to a recent video from the University published on YouTube.

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Student-built electric superbike unveiled

The group of students behind the new electric superbike consists of 25 students from several departments, including the School of Engineering, WMG, Physics, Computer Science, and Law and Maths (sic). Together, they've worked to complete Aurora with support from WMG and the WMG center High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

The Aurora will house a 17-kilowatt-hour oil-cooled battery, in addition to a powertrain pushing 150 kilowatts (200 horsepower), with 400 Newton-meters of torque. The superbike has an estimated top speed of 257.4 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour), according to the Warwick team.

Sporting a carbon fiber subframe, Aurora's radiator is designed for optimal cooling to the 260-kilogram (573.2 pounds) powertrain components.

Speed versus performance, testing amid COVID-19

A student in Warwick's school of engineering and manager of the Warwick Moto team, Aman Surana, said: "We have tried our best to design a bike that is performance-oriented but is also a learning platform for us as students. With the TT cancelation and our racing and testing plans impacted with COVID-19, our focus has been to make strategic decisions that align with our long term objectives and ensures future teams have something to work with."

This comes on the heels of advancements across entire emerging the electric motorcycle industry. For example, the Voxan debuted a new e-moto called Wattman, designed for the singular purpose of breaking the world land speed record. Unlike the Warwick team's superbike, the Wattman uses dry ice in place of a bulky radiator to cool the engine and battery — optimizing aerodynamic drag.

Superbike with ambitions for greatness

However, according to Surana, the Warwick team's goal was to design a vehicle with an emphasis on the rider instead of converting a vehicle to suit a rider. "Tom Weedon, our rider has been involved throughout the design process where we have sought his opinions and view on various characteristics of the bike and tried to implement them where possible. We cannot wait to get back in the workshop, action on our designs and go testing with Tom later this year!"

The Warwick team received significant support from industrial partners like Rock West Composites, MUPO Race Suspension, Michelin Tyre PLC, Demon Tweeks, Rajputana Custom Motorcycles, and SITRa Moto.

In the long-term, the team aims to compete with a podium-qualifying time at the Isle of Man TT 2022. Anyone interested in sponsoring the team may do so here.