Stark Future provided flights from Albany, New York, to Barcelona, Spain, and accommodation so Ars could ride the Varg EX. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
The sport of off-roading suffers from a fundamental discordance: The desire to get out into nature and the irreparable harm inherent in the process of off-roading. That harm comes not only from damage to the land itself, but from an environment polluted with both fumes and noise.
Off-roading in an EV isn't exactly a panacea, but it goes a long way toward at least solving those last two concerns. Over the years, I've been lucky enough to off-road in quite a few extremely capable EVs, but none more so than the new Stark Varg EX. This thing is an all-terrain monster, a diminutive 264 lb (120 kg) motorcycle with twice the torque of a Porsche 911 GT3, enough capability to cross nearly anything you care to run it over, and just enough civility to be street-legal.
It's a wildly impressive two-wheeled machine—but one that's not quite ready for primetime.
A new electric player
Founded in 2020, Stark Future's first motorcycle is the Varg, which means "wolf" in Swedish. The Varg MX is an electric motocross and enduro monster that has already won numerous races and even the British Arenacross Championship. Where that machine was designed exclusively for off-road play and competition, the new Varg EX makes some concessions in the name of on-road legality and practicality while delivering a number of upgrades and tweaks over the earlier MX.
The Varg EX is built around two things: a 7.2 kWh battery pack and a permanent-magnet electric motor that, despite not being much larger than a can of soda, produces 80 hp (60 kW) and an astonishing 692 lb-ft (938 Nm) of torque.
Stark Future A factory worker assembles a Stark motorcycle powertrain. A factory worker assembles a Stark motorcycle powertrain. Stark Future Tim Stevens The sintered footpeg. The sintered footpeg. Tim Stevens A factory worker assembles a Stark motorcycle powertrain. Stark Future The sintered footpeg. Tim Stevens
Bikes are built at Stark's facility in Barcelona, Spain, where workers assemble battery packs plus the bikes they power. While much of the bike is traditionally constructed, the company is experimenting with titanium laser sintering, a form of 3D printing used to create the bike's beautifully sculpted footpegs. They provided a strong, secure platform for me on the adventure that lay ahead.