Hero MotoCorp had plenty of new motorcycles and electric concepts to talk about at EICMA 2026, but one particularly interesting machine wearing VIDA colours could easily have slipped under the radar.
The fully faired electric race bike seen at the Hero-VIDA display isn’t an upcoming VIDA production motorcycle. Instead, it belongs to TUfast Moto Electric, a student engineering team from the Technical University of Munich. VIDA has announced that it is joining the project as the team’s title sponsor.
It Is Much More Than A Show Bike
TUfast Moto Electric was established to develop electric racing motorcycles for the MotoStudent competition. The students design and manufacture the motorcycle themselves before testing it on European racetracks, with the project centred around developing highly efficient electric racing technology. And the numbers are genuinely impressive.
It makes 40 kW, equivalent to roughly 54 PS, along with 100 Nm of torque. The claimed top speed also exceeds 200 kmph, while the motorcycle weighs only 130 kg. That’s an insane power-to-weight ratio.
That gives the machine a power-to-weight ratio of roughly 0.42 PS/kg, before even considering the instantaneous torque delivery associated with an electric powertrain. The bike displayed at EICMA also looks every bit like a purpose-built racing machine. There is extensive exposed carbon-fibre bodywork, a large aerodynamic front fairing, clip-on handlebars, inverted front fork and a compact race-style tail section. The number 31 sits prominently on the nose, while the bodywork now carries the large VIDA and “Powered by Hero” graphics scheme.
What Does VIDA Gain From This?
The bigger story isn’t necessarily the motorcycle itself but what VIDA could learn from the programme. Hero says its partnership with TUfast is intended to help student engineers convert academic research into practical electric racing technology for the MotoStudent International Competition.
That becomes especially interesting considering where VIDA is heading. At EICMA 2026, the brand also showcased the UBX 06 electric motorcycle, the performance-focused Project VXZ, developed alongside Zero Motorcycles and some other very interesting concept bikes.
High-performance electric motorcycle development involves challenges around battery cooling, weight reduction, power delivery, chassis behaviour and energy efficiency. A racing programme provides an ideal environment to push those areas much harder than a conventional commuter EV ever could.
SearchEV Take
Don’t expect Hero to put number plates and indicators on this motorcycle and launch it as a VIDA superbike. It still remains a university-developed competition machine rather than a production prototype.
But VIDA attaching its name to a 130 kg, 200+ kmph electric race bike is significant. Until recently, the brand was primarily associated with practical electric scooters. With new electric motorcycles, its Zero Motorcycles partnership and now an electric racing programme, Hero appears increasingly interested in proving that VIDA can represent performance as well as everyday mobility.
