VTR Customs’ BMW R18 Iron Annie Soars with Aviation-Inspired Design…
BMW R18 Iron Annie
Engine: 1.8 litre two cylinder boxer
Transmission: 6 speed shaft drive
Power: 67.8 kW
Torque: 116 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
Dry weight: 345 kg
Seat height: 690 mm
Fuel capacity: 16 litres
If the cooling fins, exposed rivets, and raw paint weren’t obvious hints, VTR Custom’s BMW R18 has clear influence from the fighter jets of yesterday, specifically the 1930 Junkers Ju 52 – nicknamed Iron Annie. From the brainwaves of aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel, the R18 Iron Annie, as this build is known, also borrows from VTR’s BMW R1200 Spitfire – which was also conceived against an antique airplane theme.
Nods and nuances to the Ju 52 can be noticed throughout, from the corrugated metal skin, to the aviator-inspired vertical fin tail, to the paintwork that follows Iron Annie’s grey and black colour finish.
The R18 1802cc mill was also yanked and painted black; but apart from the dye job, the engine remains stock yet capable with 67 kW and 116 lb-ft of torque.
Up front, the DLC-coated fork gets trimmed 2.8 inches, giving the build a more don’t-mess-with-me stance. The Annie is also fitted with height-adjustable Wilber shock absorbers, Magura HC3 master cylinders, and had the seat redesigned into a riding saddle – Red Dead Redemption style.
Sharing motorcross measurements, that front wheel is 21 inches, while the rear is 18. Both do some seriously heavy lifting, and laugh in the face of ditches and potholes.
The aviation theme continues elsewhere, seen in the access panels with quick-release fasteners, the signature aluminum planking, and the customised speedo by watchmaker Zeitzone Zurich – a nice throwback to old cockpit instruments.
Interestingly, the R18 Iron Annie has been designed to achieve road-legal status and will no doubt cause a rukus when it makes it to the streets at its new home at Lake Geneva. Being a custom commitment to an unknown Swiss customer – it remains a well-crafted one-off.
By Bill Varetimidis
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