A creative studio based in Barcelona, famous for its ability to up-cycle achingly cool retro vehicles and turn them into furniture, has recently taken the wraps off its Akira bike project - a faithful reproduction of the machine Shotaro Kaneda rides in dystopian Manga classic Akira.
But rather than merely produce a fancy looking model, Bel y Bel has taken things many steps further and created a fully functioning, rideable version, complete with pop-up headlights and rim-based LEDs.
Speaking to RideApart, Carles Bel, one half of Bel y Bel, explained that the original working prototype featured a heavily customised frame borrowed from a Yamaha Majesty YP 250cc scooter, incorporating the single-sided swing arm from a Honda VFR 800 to get the chassis length required.
"We could say that more than half of the parts have been made expressly for this bike, many parts are reused but have had to be somewhat modified for this purpose," Bel told RideApart.
"We are talking about the first prototype. In the following ones practically everything, including the chassis, will be custom built," he continued.
This little nugget of information confirms that Bel y Bel plans to produce a limited run of Akira bikes, with the final version set to feature an all-electric, rear-hub motor powertrain, rather than a diminutive combustion engine borrowed from a Yamaha scooter.
"Now we are working on two new models that you can see on our Instagram with a rear hub motor. It has three speed maps and a reverse function like the anime version," Bel went on to explain.
It should be capable of around 75mph, feature three different speed maps and a reverse gear that stays faithful to the Manga motorcycle, while all of the anime bells and whistles will remain.
This includes a neat digital display, complete with Akira-inspired graphics, as well as retro-futuristic toggle switches for ignition and powering-up peripherals.
Naturally, this is going to be a low volume production affair, but Bel claims he plans to sell these at €24,000 (around £20,500/$26,000/AUS$40,000) a pop.
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