Back in March 2015, I brought to your attention a cool replica of the Tron Light Cycle that was going up for auction at an RM Auctions event. The auction has since concluded and the Light Cycle turned out to be quite the catch, fetching $77,000 despite initial projections that the bike would only sell for as high as $40,000.
If you recall, the now previous owner of the bike is Paul Andrews, considered by many as one of the most well-known automotive collectors in the US. Back in 2012, Andrews commissioned a third-party manufacturer to build a working replica of the Light Cycle. The end result was nothing short of remarkable as Andrews found himself owning a bike that not only looked exactly like the one used in the Tron movies, but also featured a 96V motor that’s powered by lithium batteries.
This replica Light Cycle is a fully functional motorcycle that can be used legally on the streets provided it has a license plate and the new owner collects the necessary papers to make it eligible for public roads.
RM Auctions didn’t disclose the identity of the winning bidder, but I gotta say that whoever forked out $77,000 to own this replica Tron Light Cycle scored himself a pretty good deal.
Continue reading to read more about the replica Tron Light Cycle.
Why it matters
It’s nice to know that this admittedly awesome Tron Light Cycle is getting a new owner now that the Andrew Collection deemed it expendable. I was a fan of the bike when I first saw it and I even contemplated making a bid for it. Ok, that’s not true, but it was for a brief moment in my head.
I was a little surprised when I found out that the bike fetched $77,000 at the auction, almost double of the top-end estimate the Andrews Collection and RM Auctions had for the bike.
Some people might think of it as a novelty bike that really doesn’t serve another purpose than being an eye-catcher on the road. But I beg to differ, partly because I’m biased towards the movie franchise and let;’s face it, this particular Light Cycle looks absolutely spot-on from the movie version.
In some ways, I’m a little jealous of the individual who paid $77,000 for the bike. It’s a big chunk of money, but I can’t begin to imagine what he’s going to do with the bike once it’s in his possession. I hope he takes care of it the way the Andrews Collection did. There aren’t that many of these bikes to begin with, let alone one that looks nearly identical to the original and runs like a dream.
I’m not sure if it can do all the physical transformations the movie bike was capable of, but even if it doesn’t, i’d still consider this purchase a good auction score.