Lightning unveils world's fastest production motorcycle, and it's electric

The Lightning electric motorcycle may sound as quiet as a mouse at low speeds but hit the throttle and it'll send you into a world of blurs and fear

Lightning has announced the availability of the LS-218, its first official production electric motorbike that also happens to be the fastest production motorbike in the world.

The LS-218 is a production version of their original racetrack version which generally put the hurt on anything that wasn't running on batteries after it not only set a land speed record (215) but then promptly bested that during the elite Pikes Peak race (218mph).

This then is a vehicle that - whilst requiring a plug socket overnight - will punish even the slightest hint of underestimation.

In case you're wondering (which you probably are), all that power comes courtesy of a liquid-cooled 200bhp electric motor which is then powered by the batteries giving you a range of around 180mph.

Due to the sheer amount of batteries needed the LS-218 isn't exactly light-footed, but despite its 225kg weight still manages to boast a face-contorting 168 ft-lb of torque so we wouldn't worry about being shown up at the red lights.

The bike goes on sale this summer in the US for around $40,000 and if you're still not convinced then Lightning managed to set the world record using just $0.08 worth of electricity. If that isn't saving the planet we don't know what is.

Electric bikes are cool and all, but you'll still need one of the best motorbike helmets to ride them legally in the UK.