MV Agusta

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MV Agusta was a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy.

1972 MV Agusta 350

1954 MV Agusta CSTL 175 Turismo Lusso

1 History
2 Grand prix racing
3 Resurrected by Cagiva
4 Purchase and sale by Proton
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The company was an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company which was formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and his son, Domenico. Count Domenico Agusta formed MV Agusta (the MV stood for Meccanica Verghera) at the end of the Second World War as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm and also to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation. They produced their first prototype, ironically called "Vespa," in 1945. After learning of Piaggio's brand new motorscooter of the same name, it was changed to MV 98.

The company successfully manufactured small-displacement, quintessential Café racer style motorcycles (mostly 125-150 cc) through the 1950s and 1960s. In the 60s small motorcycle sales declined, and MV started producing larger displacement cycles in more limited quantities. A 250 cc, and later a smart 350 cc twin were produced, and a 600 cc four-cylinder evolved into a 750 cc which is still extremely valuable today.

With the death of Count Agusta in 1971, the company lost its guiding force. The company won their last Grand Prix in 1976 and by 1980, stopped producing motorcycles altogether. The Agusta aviation branch continued on with its successful helicopter business.

[edit] Grand prix racing

Count Agusta had a passion for mechanical workings and for motorcycle racing. He was determined to have the best Grand Prix motorcycle racing team in the world and spared no expense on his passion. He achieved this goal by hiring some of the best riders of the time, namely Carlo Ubbiali, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and others, and having the best engineers, most notably Arturo Magni. The three and four cylinder race bikes were known for their excellent road handling. The fire-engine red racing machines became a hallmark of Grand Prix racing in the 1960s, winning 17 consecutive 500 cc World Championships, and 63 World Championships overall.

[edit] Resurrected by Cagiva

The MV Agusta name was resurrected in 1997. It was purchased by Cagiva, who manufactured the new MV motorcycles. The new range were four-cylinder 750 cc sports machines (the F4 range), which include a series of limited production run models, such as the all black paint work SPR model ("Special Production Racing")which was featured in the movie "I Robot"and in 2004, they introduced their first 1000 cc bike. 2004 marked the end of production for the 750 sports machines, with a limited production of 300 SR ("Special Racing") model in the traditional red and silver livery.

MV Agusta also made a limited number of F4 750 cc and F4 1000 cc "Ayrton Senna" editions in memory of the late Formula One Champion of the same name (who was an avid Ducati and MV Agusta collector). 300 models of each were made in the early 2000's. By many accounts one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made, the "Senna" edition is also highly prized.

They also produce a range of 750 and 910 "naked" bikes called the Brutale. Production is somewhat limited, as it is the policy of the company to produce an elite machine similar to Ferrari in motor cars. They do not compete directly with Japanese manufacturers, whose motorcycles typically sell for considerably less than the cost of an MV. Rather they compete with other Italian models such as Ducati sports bikes the 996, 998, 999, and the naked Monster. In recent publications, the MV has been highly praised as one of the best handling motorcycles ever created. Claimed horsepower of the new 1000F4 is 166, although dyno tests suggest it is more in the range of 151-158, in stock performance mode, a condition generally resolved by simple after market adjustments. For 2005, MV introduced the Tamburini 1000, which is named after its creator, Massimo Tamburini, who previously worked for Moto Guzzi, and most recently Ducati. Cycle World magazine named it the best sportbike in the world. Tamburini designed the Ducati 916 sports bike (predecessor of the 748 and 996 series) which marked the return of Ducati as a successful motorcycle manufacturer over the last decade. The MV Augusta F4 refined the innovative design of the 916.

[edit] Purchase and sale by Proton

Heavily indebted, the manufacturer was bought by Malaysian carmaker Proton in December 2004 for 70 million euro. In December 2005 however, Proton decided to cut its ties with Agusta and sold it to a Genoa-based financing company related to Carige for a token euro.

In 2006 that financing company, GEVI SpA, with 65% of the share capital, had refinanced MV, and by so doing allowed MV to continue, and brought MV ownership back to Italy.