This Supercharged 400 Horsepower Motorcycle Makes Zero Sense

But we’re absolutely crazy about it.

Photo by: Thorton Hundred Motorcycles

By: Enrico Punsalang

Mar 13, at 7:04am ET

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There are custom bikes out there that make perfect sense—purpose-built machines designed for a specific job. And then there are bikes like this: a supercharged, 400-horsepower Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR that has absolutely no business existing.

And yet, here we are.

Let’s start with the base bike. The Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR is already an absolute weapon. I’ve spent a good amount of time with it, and at one point, I even considered buying one for myself. It’s easily the most performance-oriented machine in Triumph’s lineup, with a 1,160cc inline-triple pumping out 177 hp. It’s fast, razor-sharp, and as refined as British sportbikes get. So why, in the name of all that is sensible, would someone strap a supercharger to it and crank the power up to an utterly deranged 400 hp?

Enter Thornton Hundred Motorcycles, a UK-based shop that specializes in high-end, no-holds-barred custom builds. They took one look at the Speed Triple RR and thought, You know what this needs? The ability to scare fighter pilots. The result is this completely unhinged creation, featuring a Rotrex C30 supercharger, a custom billet swingarm that’s 180mm longer than stock, and a five-liter methanol tank integrated into the swingarm for the water/methanol injection system.

That’s right—this thing runs on a cocktail of fuel and pure lunacy.

Photo by: Thorton Hundred Motorcycles

It sort of looks like a real-life version of a Lego Technic kit.

Then there’s the aesthetic. As if 400 horsepower wasn’t enough, it also comes draped in full carbon fiber bodywork, adaptive aerodynamics, and lightweight carbon wheels. It’s got all the aggression of a MotoGP prototype, except it’s fully street-legal. Not that you should actually ride it on the street, unless your idea of a good time is seeing your own life flash before your eyes at neck-breaking speeds.

So, who would want something like this? Someone who laughs in the face of reason. Someone who sees a finely honed sportbike and thinks, More power. More speed...more danger.

Photo by: Thorton Hundred Motorcycles

An extended swingarm prevents you from yeeting yourself into oblivion when unleashing all 400 ponies.

Photo by: Thorton Hundred Motorcycles

Someone decided it would be a good idea to slap a supercharger onto this 1,200cc triple.

And the best part? This bike can be yours. Thornton Hundred is selling it for £55,000, which translates to around $70,000 USD. That’s a lot of money, but when you consider the level of engineering, the sheer madness of the build, and the bragging rights that come with owning a one-of-a-kind 400-horsepower supercharged drift bike, the price almost starts to make sense. Almost.

At the end of the day, this bike exists for one reason and one reason only: because it can. There’s no logical explanation for it, no real-world justification, and certainly no sane argument for why anyone should ride it. And yet, I’m glad it exists. Because motorcycles—at their core—aren’t about logic. They’re about passion, about pushing boundaries, about creating something that makes people stop and say, What the actual hell?

And in that regard, this supercharged Speed Triple RR is perfect.