Honda VTR1000 50th Anniversary Firestorm

The VTR1000 Firestorm owes its existence to one simple fact: Honda's 750cc V4 RC45 was finding it increasingly difficult to beat Ducati's 1,000cc v-twins in the World Superbike Championship. Ducati's racetrack success was reflected in sales and so, swallowing its pride, Honda followed the Italians' lead, introducing the Firestorm in 1997. The latter was built along Ducati lines, featuring a 90-degree, 8-valve, v-twin engine of 996cc, with the swinging arm pivoting directly in the gearbox casing, just like the 916/996/998 family. Although a competent sports roadster, the Firestorm was in fact no WSB racer, that role being filled by the very different SP-1 and (later) SP-2 derivatives. With around 105bhp available at the back wheel, straight-line performance was almost identical to that of the Ducati 916, the Firestorm's top speed being a little over 150mph. In 1998 Honda celebrated its 50th anniversary as a motorcycle manufacturer and to mark the occasion Honda Britain released Limited Edition versions of the CBR600F, VFR800, CBR900RR FireBlade and VTR1000 Firestorm.