History 1954 MV Agusta CSTL 175 Turismo LussoThe company began as 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 sons, Domenico,
Vincenzo, Mario and Corrado. Count Vincenzo Agusta together with
his brother Domenico 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
98", in 1945. After learning of that that the name had already
been registered by Piaggio for its Vespa motorscooter, it was
referred to simply by the number “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.
Following the death of Count Domenico Agusta in 1971 the company
declined and by 1980, it stopped producing motorcycles
altogether. Resurrected by Cagiva
F4 750 OroCagiva purchased the MV Agusta name trademarks in 1991
and in 1997 it introduced the first new MV Agusta motorcycle.
The new bikes were four-cylinder 750 cc sports machines (the F4
range), which included 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) in aid of the Instituto Ayrton Senna, his charity
foundation in Brazil for children and young people. 300 models
of each were made in the early 2000's.
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 Agusta. Rather they compete with
other Italian models such as Ducati sports bikes the 996, 998,
999, and the naked Monster. In 2005, MV Agusta introduced the
Tamburini 1000, which is named after its creator, Massimo
Tamburini, who previously worked for Moto Guzzi, and most
recently Ducati. Cycle World and Australian Motorcycle News
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 Agusta F4
refined the innovative design of the 916. In recent
publications, the MV Agusta has been highly praised as one of
the best handling motorcycles ever created and the 2008 F4 312R
model is known to be the world's fastest production motorcycle.
Claimed power of the new F4 312R model is 183HP, although dyno
tests suggest it is more in the range of 172-175, in stock
performance mode, a condition generally resolved by simple after
market adjustments.
In 1999 the Cagiva group was restructured for strategic purposes
and MV Agusta become the main brand comprising Cagiva and
Husqvarna. 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 MV
Agusta and sold it to GEVI SpA, a Genoa-based financing company
related to Carige, for a token euro excluding debt.
In 2006 that financing company, GEVI SpA, with 65% of the share
capital, had refinanced MV Agusta, and by so doing allowed the
company to continue, and brought MV Agusta ownership back to
Italy.