A Peek Behind the Golden Ring: Visiting Stark Future Headquarters
A look around the Barcelona-based HQ
Who is Stark Future? What does Varg mean? Where are these machines manufactured? And how are we sitting here asking these questions about a company that produces a pretty stellar dirtbike – that happens to be electric? All valid questions, and after riding the machine along the border of France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains and visiting Stark Future HQ in Barcelona, I’m ready to answer these questions and more.
Stark Future
In December of 2021, presale orders opened for the Stark Future Varg MX, a fully-electric motocross bike designed to be a true competitor to the 450cc machines dominating the upper echelons of the MX category. The website ended up crashing due to an overwhelming response, garnering the company more than 1,000 orders in the first 24 hours. These bikes were set to be delivered in September of 2022, however the company wasn’t ready for such a significant amount of demand. Due to growing pains – like having to send back 90% of the original 1000 frames because of poor quality control from the manufacturer – the first Varg MX was delivered in May of 2023. Fast forward to December of 2024, and the brand launched its second model in the Varg EX – a street-legal bike focused on the enduro/dual-sport scene. With hints of a SM model on the horizon, Stark Future doesn’t seem to be letting off the gas, er… throttle, anytime soon.
The Barcelona-based company was founded by Swedish entrepreneur, Anton Wass. Wass’ first foray into the industry was co-founding Pierce AB which owns what is claimed to be the “world’s largest motocross online retail store,” 24MX, with two friends who built the brand out of a basement in Stockholm. After a bit more work in the e-commerce business, Wass founded Stark Future on a date that the world will never forget – January 2020. Since that time, despite the apparent hardships, the brand has turned its first profitable quarter this year with Q2 2025, Stark reported €47 million in revenue and €4.5 million in EBITDA. For reference, it took Tesla 14 to turn a profit.
Walking around the high-tech headquarters outside of Barcelona, one is met with a clean white manufacturing facility and a stylish office where scores of young professionals collaborate, dogs sleep next to desks, and employees dine in the company-catered lunchroom – all 300 of them. The leadership team’s desks are right next to IT and customer service, sharing the same space with everyone else.
On the first floor, production of the battery and motorcycles happens at Stark Future HQ. More than 80% of the motorcycle’s components are produced within Europe. The “Flying V” battery packs are assembled in one half of the brand’s space with help from robots, while the motorcycle assembly and QC happens next door. Since the Varg is fairly modular, from start to finish, each bike takes about 55 minutes to assemble. Coincidentally, that’s about the same amount of time each battery pack takes as it undergoes its laser and CO2-cleaned way to a fully water-tight unit in a magnesium case. In addition to the other high-tech operations, torque wrenches are tuned to provide specific measurements given specific bolts tightened in a specific pattern. The entire facility showcases world-class manufacturing and is already starting to feel small, we’re told by Benjamin Cobb, Director of Public Relations. Shipping is also handled in another section of the building where Stark Future has managed to package the bikes into crates that fit two per pallet, whereas a single conventional dirtbike typically uses an entire pallet on its own. Then, it’s off to warehouses in the UK, USA, or Australia for further distribution.
Varg EX
The Varg EX is an evolution of the original Varg MX. It gets the necessary enduro faire in the 21/18-inch wheel combo, but offers a slew of upgrades – now in street-legal form. The Varg MX is a model that Motorcycle.com hasn’t covered much, if at all, because we tend not to cover motocross bikes since there is an entire niche of media heavily devoted to it. It was the street-legality of the EX that caught our attention. Thankfully, the folks at Stark Future invited Motorcycle.com to visit the HQ in Barcelona, before heading into the Pyrenees mountains to get a closer look.
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Ryan’s time in the motorcycle industry has revolved around sales and marketing prior to landing a gig at Motorcycle.com. An avid motorcyclist, interested in all shapes, sizes, and colors of motorized two-wheeled vehicles, Ryan brings a young, passionate enthusiasm to the digital pages of MO.
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"Wass founded Stark Future on a date that the world will never forget – January 2020."
Why will you never forget this date? Stark won't exist for long. I'll bet on that. As soon as the Japanese throw their hat into this realm, if they're foolish enough to do so, then Stark will be dead.
"Since that time, despite the apparent hardships, the brand has turned its first profitable quarter this year with Q2 2025, Stark reported €47 million in revenue and €4.5 million in EBITDA. For reference, it took Tesla 14 to turn a profit."
What Tesla did is more than twice as impressive as this. Cars are more than twice as complex, more than double the amount of parts, more than double the amount of regulations and red tape, and Tesla was the first to do it. Tesla proved it was possible. From there on, it gets easier. It does bring up a point though. Where did Stark get all of their capital. Any why are people foolishly dumping billions upon billions of dollars into EV startups despite the many failures?
Just a fad. Electric motorbikes are stupid. Dirtbikes, especially for closed course may have some success, temporarily. People with more money than braincells will buy, ride twice and sell. Fad will cool off, and used market will go for pennies. Just like Tesla and other electric junk. I'm not hating, just seeing what's happening around. 🤷♂️