Visordown in the UK has come up with some credible photgraphic evidence that that BMW is making a higher-spec 'HP4” version of the S1000RR to be introduced as a 2013 model.
What's new? Well apart from the graphics and HP4 badging there's said to be electronic suspension control as standard, launch control, revised seven-setting traction control, the titanium Akrapovic exhaust you see in the pictures, improved brakes and forged wheels
Power is said to be unchanged at 193bhp, which begs the question about exactly what that Akrapovic exhaust is doing, although it, along with the wheels, does contribute to an 19.4lb reduction in weight, down to 431.9lbs ready-to-ride.
Price is likely to be in the “if you have to ask, you can't afford it” category, probably between £16,000 and £20,000 ($26,000-$33,000).
The pictures certainly seem to add a level of credibility to the story; as well as the graphics, the forks differ from the stock bike's (losing the manual damping adjusters at the bottom) as do the brake callipers. And with more than one angle, including an action shot, they're unlikely to be computer-generated mock-ups.––Paul Duchene
