Celebrated engineer Allen Millyard started the 8-litre V10 engine for the auction room before bidding opened on his outlandish masterpiece. It was lot 399 at the National Motorcycle Museum on 22 July, run by H&H Classics, estimated at £100,000 to £150,000 and hammered at £130,000, or £149,500 after fees.
Millyard began the build in 2004 around a Dodge Viper GTS engine and finished it in 2009. Despite the Wacky Races-esque looks, the Millyard Viper V10 motorcycle is a serious engineering project that’s rideable, at least for the most competent riders.
The legendary machine is fully road-legal, and Millyard himself has covered more than 9,000 miles, including trips to Guernsey, the Isle of Wight, and the Isle of Man, where he rode a lap of the TT course.
Bruce Dunn, MCN’s Chief Test Rider, rode it at the Bruntingthorpe proving ground. He achieved a remarkable 207mph. Dunn was convinced there was more in the bike, if there had only been more runway. He came away with a healthy respect for the machine and was suitably impressed by how Millyard had solved all the engineering problems.
In 2014, the bike picked up the award for the Most OTT at the Salon Privé concours d’élégance. In May 2023, this marvellous 8.0-litre engineering feat smashed the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Tandem Motorcycle by 5mph, piloted by Millyard with the co-presenter of The Motorbike Show, Henry Cole, riding pillion.
This is the first time Millyard has sold one of his own builds at auction. The result was considered strong rather than spectacular for a bike with this profile. Expectations, perhaps, were influenced by sales of the similarly powered Tomahawk Dodge machines, which Dodge allegedly sold for $555,000.
The winning bidder, a long-time National Motorcycle Museum supporter, was Tim Whittaker. The two celebrated that the wild machine gets to stay in Britain. Whittaker’s already promised the museum that he’ll loan it the bike to display in the winter months.
Millyard said the sale would make room for the next project, which sounds about right for him. What comes next remains to be seen. I’m sure he’ll find a way to subtly or spectacularly top the Viper build.
