MV Agusta Superveloce Arsham Is a Moto Relic of the Present No True Bike Lover Can Ignore

Daniel Arsham is one of the most daring artists of our time. Based in New York, he is involved in anything from fine art to architecture, but he also plays around in the fields of design and film. Why, the man has even made a name for himself in the automotive world, after getting involved (mostly) with German carmaker Porsche.

When it comes to vehicles (and object-based art in general), Arsham has a unique style he and his followers like to call the erosion method. That means making things produced in the 20th century, or more specifically during the millennial era, look like they're a thousand years old. He does this by carefully modifying their appearance, and many times damaging said objects on purpose.

The general idea behind the man's creations is to create something he likes to call fictional archeology – that basically means making objects look a bit like they would if unearthed thousands of years from now by the next generations of humans, as they try to learn more about their ancestors.

What results from this work are so-called relics of the present. If you've been watching our coverage of Arsham's latest Porsche work, you know what that means. If not, check out one of his most recent works of Porsche art we stumbled upon, the slant nose 964 RWBA.

But Porsches are not where here to discuss today, but something that is described as the "most exclusive collaboration in the motorcycle world." That would be a tie-up between Arsham and motorcycle maker MV Agusta that resulted in an extraordinary piece of engineering and art just half a dozen people in this world will ever get to enjoy in the proper sense.

The bike in this modified form is called MV Agusta Superveloce Arsham, and although it suffered no mechanical, structural, or performance modifications, it probably is the most exciting motorcycle project of the entire year.

The special motorcycle was shown to the world at the end of the week during the Miami Art Basel event. It is based on the standard Superveloce motorcycle, if there ever was a standard Superveloce, and that already means excitement in a very cool package.

At the time of writing the Italian bike maker is offering the motorcycle, its most iconic product as the company itself likes to say, in three variants, namely 800, S, and 98. The range is powered by the same 798cc, three-cylinder engine that cranks out a massive 147 horsepower at 13,000 rpm, all of that while weighing just 173 kg (381 pounds).

All of the above numbers are valid for the Arsham edition of the bike as well, but now, instead of the gray, red, and black colors the Superveloces usually come in, this one is of a blinding white, one of the favorite hues for the artist to dress his creations.

Pure white was used on absolutely all the body parts that allowed it to be used, and when looked from afar the bike may look like purity on wheels. A closer look however reveals the intentionally crooked appearance of the ride on the places that matter the most.

Arsham use his erosion technique skillfully on the bike, so we're now presented with artistic decay the likes of which we mind not enjoying. You can see the artist's work clearly displayed on the bike's fairing, on the left-side body cover, and on the rear mudguard.

This created something MV Agusta calls a neo-retro design that was inspired by "MV Agusta's glorious racing legacy."

The project comes across as something that pretty much all historians of both art and the motorcycle industry will remember, but not something that will be enjoyed first-hand by too many people.

It would be an understatement to call the MV Agusta Superveloce Arsham a limited edition, as that will have you thinking tens of possibly hundreds of them are to be made. That's not the case, as there will be only six of these beauties ever produced.

And don't go hoping you could somehow get your hands on one of them. All six MV Agusta Superveloce Arsham motorcycles have already been spoken for, and they are now reserved for MV Agusta's top customers and Daniel Arsham's collectors.

That also means we will never learn how much the bike maker and the artist let these things go for last week. Sometime in the future, maybe one of them will pop up for sale, and we'll get a sense of the price then.

I'm pretty certain though that, despite the relatively minor modifications made, the effect this two-wheeler has on people the instant they see it is far more valuable than the $24,598 MV Agusta is asking for the production Superveloce.