Lazareth LMV496 "La Moto Volante" Flying Motorcycle
The Lazareth flying motorcycle, officially the LMV496 "La Moto Volante", is a French-built machine that rides on the road like an electric motorcycle and then lifts off the ground on four jet turbines at the push of a button. It is one of the only road-and-air vehicles ever brought close to production, with Lazareth limiting the run to just five units priced at $560,000 each.
Lazareth is no stranger to extreme builds. We have all witnessed their LM847, a V8 powered motorcycle with a powerplant drawn from a Maserati. With the LMV496 they pushed far beyond that earlier work, swapping pure spectacle for something that genuinely leaves the tarmac.
What is the Lazareth LMV496 "La Moto Volante"?
Based on Lazareth's earlier extreme motorcycle, the LMV496 introduces two key changes. First, it uses an electric powertrain on the road instead of a gasoline V8, good for a quiet, zero-emission ride around town. Second, and far more remarkable, it can fly. When you feel like staying on the road, the electric motor simply zaps you around in near silence.
How does the moto volante actually fly?
Stuck in traffic? No problem. With the help of hydraulic actuators, the wheels rotate from upright to horizontal and the JetCat jet turbines tilt outwards to create vertical lift. Each of the four wheels carries its own turbine, spinning at up to 96,000 rpm, together delivering around 1,300 hp and roughly ten minutes of flight time. According to TopSpeed, the LMV496 hovers a few feet above the ground rather than soaring away, which keeps this jet powered flying motorcycle closer to a hovering machine than an aircraft. When you are done flying, you land and convert it back into a road-going monster with the push of a button.
How much does the Lazareth LMV496 cost?
It sounds like science fiction, yet it is real. As BikeBound reports, the la moto volante 496 weighs just over 300 pounds and Lazareth plans to build only five examples, each priced at $560,000. That is a striking figure, but for a bike that seems to have arrived from the future, it buys access to a vehicle category that barely exists.
Where to find machines like the Lazareth LMV496
The LMV496 sits at the wildest edge of two-wheeled engineering, alongside other boundary-pushing builds in our motorcycles collection. If you are drawn to Lazareth's signature mix of horsepower and theatre, explore the rest of the Lazareth lineup, including the legendary LM847 V8 and the Yamaha R1 "Back to the Future" build. For a forward-looking electric machine you can actually ride today, the Arc Vector Angel Edition shows where premium electric motorcycles are heading.
Ready to bring a piece of the future into your garage? Browse the full Lazareth collection at TheArsenale.
