Not a factory, not a corporation, not a society, but a ‘bottega,’ or craftsman studio. This is the philosophy of the exclusivist Italian motorcycle manufacturer named Vyrus. And it’s a shame that many people have never even heard of Vyrus, which is accredited for making one of the most artistic bikes of all time, the Bimota Tesi, along with the help of legendary designer, Massimo Tamburini – a.k.a. the Michelangelo of custom bike design.

But Vyrus is no ordinary motorcycle manufacturer, and their attention to detail on each individual bike is extraordinary. Project manager, and company owner, Ascanio Rodrigo meets each customer personally, and listens to their demands. The bikes’ main chassis and body are then made bespoke for the customer, and the 750 parts of the bike are assembled by hand, which is why Rodrigo likes to be called a craftsman. Even though the Vyrus is completely handmade, it’s still one of the most technologically advanced bikes in the world.

Based in the town of Rimini, on the eastern coast of Italy, the small Vyrus workshop has made waves across the biking fraternity. Needless to say, with just four models under their belt, they’re extremely exclusive. Their latest offering is the Vyrus 987 C3 4VV naked superbike, which also has the distinguished title of being the most powerful production motorcycle on the planet. It’s more powerful than Ducati’s Desmosedici RR, MV Agusta’s F4 312RR, Suzuki’s Hayabusa, and Kawasaki’s ZZR1400.

The chassis of all Vyrus bikes are made of two skeletal machined aluminium frame spars that use the engine as a stressed member with a subframe of chrome moly tubes. The Vyrus does away with conventional shock absorbers that are replaced with twin double system air shocks without springs.

Besides Yamaha, which was unsuccessful, no other major company, other than BMW, has offered a genuine alternative to the telescopic fork.

However, all Vyrus bikes use Ducati engines, and the hub-centre-steered Vyrus 987 runs a 211bhp supercharged 1,198cc 1098R Ducati engine. The bike weighs just 158 kg (an average MotoGP bike weighs 150kg), and costs around $90,000 (`42 lakhs). Production is very limited, and highly exclusive with a four month wait period before you get to ride one.

The engineers at Vyrus are well experienced in high performance motorcycles and many of them have worked for companies such as Ducati and Bimota. The Vyrus is a name that will now grow on people.

So, the next time someone asks you about a superbike, make sure you’re well versed with this devastating Vyrus.