Fancy a Gurney Alligator?

IF you're into motorsport you've probably heard of Dan Gurney – the only man ever to have won races in F1, Indycar, NASCAR, Can-Am and the Le Mans 24 Hours. But you might not know that since his front-line driving career he's concentrated on the development of a feet-forward sports bike, the Gurney Alligator.

Only 36 of the first-series bikes were built, and this one is up for sale today at Bonhams auction in Las Vegas. The 19th made, it's powered by a 710cc Honda single making 70bhp, and thanks to its low-slung aerodynamics it's good for 140mph. Counter-intuitively, the handling of these machines is reckoned to be surprisingly agile; Eddie Lawson was impressed enough to actually buy one.

The proportions mightn't be to everyone's taste, but that uncomfortably-styled bodywork is all carbon fibre, while the wheels are magnesium to keep weight down to only 150kg. The bike on sale, while made in 2002, is basically new – there are only 176 miles on the clock.

There's no estimate on the bike's value, but it's being sold with no reserve so it could turn out to be a cheap piece of unusual history.

See www.bonhams.com for details of the auction.