EICMA Debrief: MV Agusta's Money, Management, & Motorcycles

In our round-ups of the EICMA show of Milan, I am not sure if we have saved the best for last, but we certainly have saved the most important for last. There has been no shortage of news from MV Agusta this month already, and the Italian brand ran a skillful guerrilla campaign in Milan this year – a show that takes place in the company’s own backyard.

In this month alone, MV Agusta has announced a €40 million investment, a new CEO, a new four-cylinder platform, and a bevy of special edition models. Recently too, the iconic motorcycle brand has entered into the Moto2 World Championship, withdrawn from the World Superbike paddock, and positioned itself as the ultra-premium offering in the two-wheeled space.

So, what does this all mean? Well…we certainly have a lot to talk about.

Cash Is King

For the past few years, we have been reporting the financial troubles of MV Agusta. The Italian company has always seemed to be on the brink of some financial hardship, but things took a turn in 2016, with MV Agusta’s cash flows coming to a halt, its relationship with Mercedes AMG souring, and the specter of bankruptcy looming.

The turnaround came in the former of investment from Russia, with Timur Sardarov helping MV Agusta to purchase back its stock from Mercedes AMG, aiding the company to restructure its debt, and now investing €40 million of capital into the two-wheeled brand.

That sum of money opens a number of doors for MV Agusta, and it is no coincidence that its timing comes with the news that MV Agusta has begun a new four-cylinder platform, the first iteration being the Brutale 1000 Serie Oro.

More importantly though, the €40 million invested brings stability to the MV Agusta brand. It means not only a gained consumer confidence, but the beginning of a new faith inside the entire motorcycle industry.

Acquiring new dealerships will be easier now, and the relationships with suppliers will be improved upon as well. MV Agusta will be able to invest its time and resources into customer support too, which will help levitate the brand’s status into the ultra-premium category that it hopes to occupy.

Of course, the added money will mean the ability to develop new motorcycle models and technology, which should not only delight those who view MV Agusta’s motorcycles as two-wheeled art, but it could also position the brand as an industry leader.

It’s Good to Be King

I am not sure what the practical implications are going to be for MV Agusta, but there certainly is a symbolic value to the news that Giovanni Castiglioni will no longer act as the company’s CEO and Chairman (he is still President of the company, however). Instead, now the top seat is occupied by the 36-year-old Timur Sardarov.

In theory, this should free Castiglioni from the business side of MV Agusta, allowing him to focus on the products, racing, and brand of the motorcycle company. Conversely, the leadership change means that Sardarov can focus on keeping MV Agusta in the black, smoothing its business transactions, and perhaps most importantly, keeping Castiglioni to a budget.

So far, the news of this management shakeup has been met with a positive response from brand stakeholders such as dealers and customers. MV Agusta has never been short on passion, but it certainly has suffered from a lack of financial stability. Maybe this is a new beginning.

A New Chapter

Make no mistake, all of this news sets the stage for MV Agusta at EICMA and the new chapter that the company faces. The Italian brand has much to do, but the path is clearer now.

This why it is now that we see the beginnings of MV Agusta’s new four-cylinder lineup and other models. As such, the MV Agusta Brutale 1000 is the first of three bike we expect to see use the four-cylinder engine.

Castiglioni told us earlier this year that there would be a neo café racer for the 2020 model year, and a new superbike for 2021.

I suspect that the MV Agusta Superveloce 800 concept is a precursor to that “neo café racer” – though, I have heard nothing suggesting the sort, and this is purely my own speculation.

Stay Brutal

As for the MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro, we see that the Italians are keeping to an old trick. As we have seen before, most recently with the release of the MV Agusta F3 supersport, a Serie Oro trim level precedes the more accessible base model version.

MV Agusta tells us that only 300 units of this motorcycle will be produced, and that pricing will be pegged somewhere near the €43,000 mark. That is a princely sum for a naked bike…it is even a €3,000 premium over the 217hp Ducati Panigale V4 R superbike, but such is life.

For me, the MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro was best in show at EICMA. The bike’s design is a masterpiece, with Adrian Morton’s team at the Castiglioni Research Center in Rimini producing what will surely be another timeless design for MV Agusta.

The devil is in the details though, and one of my favorites is the big TFT dash spotted on the Brutale 1000, which is something I have been hounding MV Agusta to provide for several model years now. I know they have been listening, and I hope other brands are as well.

It is of note too that MV Agusta has tapped Öhlins for its electronic suspension systems, another welcomed change I have talked about in my reviews. This bares another detail though, as the Swedish brand had previously not been working with MV Agusta, and rumors peg that reason due to payment issues.

I can only think that the Öhlins units come now as part of MV Agusta’s new-found capital backing, and this is just one of many doors that the Russian investment has opened.

With 205hp (152 kW) on tap, the Brutale 1000 Serie Oro is making an astounding amount of power, especially for a naked bike. MV Agusta is seemingly achieving this by wedging the power plant from the F4 RC superbike into the naked bike’s chassis.

The former basis for its World Superbike program, the F4 RC engine and the Brutale 1000 Serie Oro share almost identical specifications, most importantly in dimension. It does seem that MV Agusta has made improvements to the four-cylinder engine, but it remains to be seen if this will be the basis for the Brutale 1000 base model when it debuts.

That matter will likely depend on the price point that MV Agusta envisions for the Brutale 1000. A 200hp+ figure is certainly still possible, considering the price points of the F4 and F4 RR, but it almost certainly will come with a $20,000+ price tag.

It is impressive to see that MV Agusta is playing with aerodynamics, cleverly using its radiator shroud as a winglet. I am becoming skeptical of any brand that touts a winglet without a corresponding quote on downforce generated, so it is important to note that MV Agusta says that its winglets start applying meaningful downforce at 125 mph (200 km/h), without affecting handling.

Racing only in the Moto2 Championship, where winglets are not allowed, I will be curious to see how MV Agusta continues to develop this technology for its street bikes.

I once said that electronics are the new horsepower, as the electronic rider aids being developed are going to be far more important than the 200hp+ power figures that aim to tame. I will say this now, aerodynamics are the new electronics, and we can only expect to see this space developing more over time. Will MV Agusta be at the forefront of it?