MV Agusta Superveloce 800 75ème anniversaire 2020 — Specifications

Seventy-five examples, seventy-five hours to reserve them. The countdown was launched for this Superveloce 800 75th Anniversary, and it was already known that the timeframe would be too short. MV Agusta played the card of ultra-exclusivity with a mastery that borders on provocation, and the result was written in advance: everything flew away in a few seconds, like concert tickets for a rockstar. At €25,000, we’re no longer talking about a simple motorcycle, but a rolling collector's item, a stinging tribute to the seventy-five years of the Varese house.

This edition draws its soul from the Oro version, the most luxurious in the range, and adds the definitive signature. The red Alcantara saddle, the matching rear fairing, that’s déjà vu, but magnificent. The real find is these gold rims with black spokes, a goldsmith's detail that captures the light and immediately anchors the machine in an extraordinary register. The numbered plate on the fork tube completes the transformation of the owner into a guardian of a heritage. And in the kit, there's the sledgehammer argument: a triple-outlet Arrow silencer, much more graceful than the original exhaust, which releases the latent 153 horsepower from the three-cylinder engine and reduces the weight of the beast by 8 kilos, bringing it to 165 kg dry. A promise of symphony.

Because beneath this exceptional headlight beats the fierce and technical heart of the F3 800. The inline trio of 798 cm3 is a marvel of responsiveness, delivering its original 148 horsepower with a frenzy worthy of a Grand Prix engine, the torque of 88 Nm arriving high in the rev range to encourage mistakes. The trellis frame, fully adjustable suspension, and Brembo radial brakes offer immense track potential. The electronics are complete, with a quickshifter, adjustable traction control, and the modern TFT dashboard. It is a radical sportbike, dressed as a work of art. The seat height of 830 mm recalls that we are far from a touring bike, reserving its favors for supple and committed riders.

So who was the typical customer for this machine? Certainly not the Sunday rider. It was the collector, the pure aesthete for whom a Ducati Panigale V4 is too common, and who was looking for the ultimate expression of flamboyant Italian flair. A motorcycle to look at, to listen to, and to take out for rare initiations, much more than to use. At this price, we are bordering on the irrational, but that is all of MV Agusta's game: to create pure, almost painful desire, especially now that it is too late. They didn't sell a motorcycle, they sold a piece of history, and the timer indeed turned very, very quickly.