When Kawasaki pulled the covers off the GPZ1100 in 1981, it brought forth one of the most powerful and fastest super bikes in the world at the time. It featured a 1,089cc inline-four engine pumping out around 105 horsepower out of the box. Needless to say, this bike was on the top of the mountain when it came to performance at the time. However, for one German chassis designer, it just wasn’t enough.
You could definitely say that Manfred Rau was a genius when it came to two-wheeled performance. Rising to fame at a rather young age, Rau was best known for his race-spec motorcycle frames mated to Japanese powerplants and top-shelf braking and suspension components. Bikes like the Honda CB750 and yes, the GPZ1100 all went under Rau’s microscope and came out lighter, faster, and more powerful than ever before. One such bike is the machine in question today—a Rau Kawasaki GPZ1100 listed for auction at Artcurial.
