Eight engineering students from the University of Liverpool have designed a rather odd looking bicycle with the intention of breaking the world record for the fastest bike. The pictures released have led to many saying that it looks nothing like a bike, however we are assured that it is.

The bike itself is called the Arion 1 is covered in an aerodynamic shell that has been designed with an inverted teardrop shape to allow it to cut through the air with ease.  As it stands the record for the fastest engineered bike is held by the Dutch made XeloX3 which managed to reach 83.1 mph.

The Arion 1 is at present only in the design stage, but the eight engineers maintain that it will easily be able to generate speeds 90mph. To drive the bicycle, the operator will have to lie down inside the Arion 1.

The rider will need to remain as low as possible to the ground inside the machine to cut down on wind resistance. The operator is fully enclosed in the aerodynamic shell, there’s no way for them to see outside. This means that they will have to operate the machine using a camera system located inside the aerodynamic shell.

The engineers have some more work to do on the Arion 1 at present, but they remain confident that they have the capability and technology to be able to break the current world record. They plan to have the bicycle ready for the record breaking attempt by May 2015.