Photo: irishyv.deviantart.com
MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni confirmed that the Varese house will deliver three new liter-class motorcycles in 2016. Two things caught our attention: the fact that the upcoming 1,000cc machines will be completely redesigned in terms of both aesthetics and mechanics (engine and frame), while the second interesting thing was mentioning a "crossover".
These declarations have been made during the "Gli Amici di Claudio" event, a motorcycle rally that brings together riders and fans of Ducati, MV Agusta and Cagiva machines that came to live during the days of Giovanni's father, the great Claudio Castiglioni.
Now, this announcement introduces a lot of excitement to the premium European motorcycle segment, as the shoes the new bikes must fill are quite large. For almost two decades, MV Agusta's sport bikes have been a benchmark at the border of luxury and performance, despite the company's financial ups and downs.
It will be extremely interesting to see which direction MV Agusta plans to take with its new 1,000cc machines. The outlines of the liter-class engine segment seem to be rather clear. We can expect a powerful in-line injected four cylinder power plant producing around 200 horsepower, with at least three mappings, a massive electronic package including top-drawer (race) ABS, new-generation traction control, semi-active or fully-electronic suspensions and other similar gimmicks.
On the aesthetic side, however, MV Agusta will have a hard task. The bikes designed by Massimo Tamburini have generated a huge following and are present in design museums around the world. Schiranna has to come up with designs that represent a step forward from the actual bikes, but which will not stray from the "motorcycle art" slogan.
As the sport-adventure segment enjoys a massive growth and MV Agusta managed to attain financial security after selling a 25% minority to Mercedes and getting extra financing from other sources, it was only natural that they would consider tapping into this new segment.
The new MV Agusta crossover bike will be a direct rival for the BMW S1000XR, as it follows the exact recipe: taking a superbike engine and making it a little more manageable, then loading it into a rolling chassis designed for traveling and equipped with all-rounder suspensions. Top everything with all the touring amenities one can think of, and there you have it, a potential bestseller, if the price is right.
Something tells us that we will see the production-ready machines at EICMA 2015 in mid-November... Stay tuned.
Now, this announcement introduces a lot of excitement to the premium European motorcycle segment, as the shoes the new bikes must fill are quite large. For almost two decades, MV Agusta's sport bikes have been a benchmark at the border of luxury and performance, despite the company's financial ups and downs.
The strong economic performance and growth fuels MV Agusta's continued line-up expansion
Giovanni Castiglioni says that the recent developments in the economic status of MV Agusta represent the perfect background for the continued evolution of the brand. We knew that the current F4 and its naked version the Brutale were somewhat overdue, but this is the first piece of official info that seems to confirm that they will be phased out.It will be extremely interesting to see which direction MV Agusta plans to take with its new 1,000cc machines. The outlines of the liter-class engine segment seem to be rather clear. We can expect a powerful in-line injected four cylinder power plant producing around 200 horsepower, with at least three mappings, a massive electronic package including top-drawer (race) ABS, new-generation traction control, semi-active or fully-electronic suspensions and other similar gimmicks.
On the aesthetic side, however, MV Agusta will have a hard task. The bikes designed by Massimo Tamburini have generated a huge following and are present in design museums around the world. Schiranna has to come up with designs that represent a step forward from the actual bikes, but which will not stray from the "motorcycle art" slogan.
The sport-adventure MV Agusta will most likely be the crown jewel
We anticipated that MV Agusta will build a sport-adventure/crossover machine when we first heard the rumors on the new 1,000cc platform. It was not that much of a wild guess, but an educated one.As the sport-adventure segment enjoys a massive growth and MV Agusta managed to attain financial security after selling a 25% minority to Mercedes and getting extra financing from other sources, it was only natural that they would consider tapping into this new segment.
The new MV Agusta crossover bike will be a direct rival for the BMW S1000XR, as it follows the exact recipe: taking a superbike engine and making it a little more manageable, then loading it into a rolling chassis designed for traveling and equipped with all-rounder suspensions. Top everything with all the touring amenities one can think of, and there you have it, a potential bestseller, if the price is right.
Something tells us that we will see the production-ready machines at EICMA 2015 in mid-November... Stay tuned.
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