Auto Fabrica Type 18 - BMW R nine T Scrambler
The Auto Fabrica Type 18 is a BMW R nineT Scrambler custom motorcycle built by London-based brothers Bujar and Gazmend Muharremi for BMW Motorrad, unveiled at the Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz in 2019. Taking aviation design and geometric architecture as its starting point, it is the most futuristic and angular build Auto Fabrica has produced: sharp panels of hand-formed aluminium and 3D-printed components replace the Scrambler's production bodywork entirely.
Who Are Auto Fabrica?
Auto Fabrica is a London-based custom motorcycle workshop founded and run by brothers Bujar and Gazmend Muharremi. Since the workshop's inception, the pair have established a reputation for restrained, precisely executed builds that combine their guiding philosophy of "less is more" with an unusually high level of hand-metalwork skill. Previous types in the Auto Fabrica series used softer, more organic lines; the Type 18 marks the first time they have pushed into a sharply angular, aeronautical direction.
The Design Concept: Aircraft Architecture on Two Wheels
Before touching the BMW, the brothers visited the BMW Museum in Munich to study the brand's aviation heritage: BMW began as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916. From there they looked to geometric architecture and aircraft structural panels as the visual language for the build. The result is a motorcycle that reads like an aeronautical drawing made physical: flat panels, sharp transitions and minimal exposed mechanical hardware. A machine, as Bujar describes it, "stuck between asphalt and the clouds."
Build Details: Aluminium, 3D Printing and Cross-Model Parts
Auto Fabrica started with a stock R nineT Scrambler and stripped it to understand every element before making any change. The aeronautical body panels are a combination of hand-beaten aluminium and 3D-printed sections, both integrated directly into the standard frame without modification to its structure. Parts were borrowed from across the R nineT family: triple trees and upside-down forks from an R nineT Roadster, rear-set mounts and wheels from an R nineT Racer. The engine is the Scrambler's original 1,170cc air-cooled boxer, remapped for the finished motorcycle.
A New Direction for a Celebrated Workshop
The Type 18 demonstrates that the BMW R nineT platform, already recognised as one of the most modification-friendly motorcycles of its generation, can support a visual language far beyond cafe racer and neo-retro aesthetics. Auto Fabrica's collaboration with BMW Motorrad produced a machine that is simultaneously a factory-supported concept and a genuine hand-built custom, which is a rare combination at any level of the industry. For other exceptional BMW custom builds, explore the BMW R9T Gelber Baron, the BMW K75 Scrambler by The Foundry MC, and browse the full motorcycles collection at TheArsenale.
Sources: Bike EXIF, BMW Motorrad
