MV Agusta is ready to turn the page and get a fresh start following Harley-Davidson’s sale of the company back to Claudio Castiglioni, who originally acquired MV in 1992. Castiglioni is putting all hope on the company’s new F3 Triple sportbike unveiled at the Milan Motorcycle Show.
When Castiglioni purchased the rights to MV from Count Rocky Agusta, nephew of founder Count Domenico Agusta, the company was then a division of Agusta Aviazione, a small firm established in 1907 by his father Count Giovanni Agusta specializing in production of components for the early Italian aerospace industry. At the end of WWII, Agusta Aviazione not only grew on the strength of picking up the remains of the battered pre-war aero industry but by creating MV Agusta to supply the small displacement motorcycles that had become a necessity in post-war Italy.
Motorcycles were a personal passion for Count Domenico Agusta, much the same as they are for Castiglioni today. Count Domenico was totally focused on the racing activity in which he invested millions of dollars, transferring advanced aerospace technologies into his wonderful racing machines. Following Count Domenico’s death in the early 1970s, MV Agusta motorcycle production declined sharply, and the racing department closed its doors in 1976 following Giacomo Agostini’s 350cc German Grand Prix win at the old Nurburgring. By 1980, all motorcycle activity was dead at Cascina Costa. Fortunately, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni were passionately in love with MV Agusta’s name and racing heritage and saved it in ’92.
Flash forward to the present: With the Castiglioni family back at the helm, it is their mission to resurrect MV Agusta and elevate it to its former glory. Claudio will be assisted by his son Giovanni and his old friend from the Ducati days, Massimo Bordi, who returns to the motorcycle world after years in the agricultural tractor business as CEO of SAME DEUTZ-FAHR. After meeting with all three, my first impression is that MV might finally be on the road to becoming profitable. H-D poured massive amounts of money into the factory, including tooling to dramatically improve the quality of the products. But the key will be that Castiglioni’s passion and enthusiasm will be harnessed by the only two people he is willing to listen to, his son and Bordi.
First, was the painful act of reducing manpower, which was excessive in relation to the 4000 motorcycles per year being produced. Next, it is imperative to reestablish financial credibility in order to obtain at least 10 million euros from lenders in order to put the new F3 into production. In a sense, the entire future of MV rests on the success of the F3. No F3, no recovery and repositioning of MV Agusta into a healthy financial condition. While Giovanni is as passionate as his father about MV Agusta, he is also a lot more realistic about how to run the company.
“Passion is determinant here, as it is at Ferrari,” Giovanni said. “We are not going to divert from the MV Agusta tradition that is totally focused on sportbikes of ultimate excellence in performance, styling and execution. But we shall be solidly looking at adequate profitability per unit. No more runaway dreams. Being visionary is one thing, wasting money and energies is a completely different story. That will never happen again here, but all must be assured that passion will never die.”
“The F3 will literally open new perspectives for MV Agusta,” says Claudio. “It will uncork all the potential of this great marque. In the meantime we shall release an entry-level version of the Brutale powered by a 920cc version of our ‘radial valves’ Four. It will be competitively priced and that will start the process of our growth.”
Then there will be the F3: 675cc, 137 hp and 385 pounds dry. The engine is light, compact and torquey like a Twin but revvy like a Four. Designed by Ezio Mascheroni—pistons, rods and valves hold no secrets from him—the former Aermacchi and Cagiva designer conceived and develop the engine. Despite the engine’s diminutive size, it is possible to enlarge it to 800cc. In 675cc form, bore and stroke measure 79.0 x 45.9mm, but bore can be safely increased to 81mm. The prototype engine with sand-cast cases tips the scale at 108 pounds. In its pressure die-cast production form it should weigh less than 100. The F3 family will include three models: the all-out sportbike, the naked Brutale and also a supermoto-style machine.
“Putting the F3 into production within the shortest possible time is our primary target,” Bordi said. “Having the F3 in our inventory means more than doubling our production numbers from the present 4000 to 10,000. This is the first stage, then there will be an F3-based Brutale and we expect that our production will reach 15,000 units a year, a number easily manageable by the present structure of MV Agusta. That will ensure solid profitability.”
