PH will confess to letting out a sigh at the mention of an “Alpine blue paintjob” for the MV Agusta Superveloce motorbike that was revealed this afternoon. The opening moments of its online reveal had all the makings of another branding exercise between the world of four and two wheels. Not least because that's what it is. But when the “two emotional brands from different sides of the Alps” fluff subsided, and the narrative turned technical, then things got interesting. Just 110 Superveloces will be made for the global market, but from what we can tell, all will be totally awesome.
The design, for starters – which essentially re-dresses MV’s 800 Superveloce in an A110 style – is lovely, with the famous blue shade contrasted by white on a slender, retro body with a single headlight. Big Brembo brakes emphasise the 147hp performance on offer from this Italian creation, along with the heftiness of a 798cc three-pot motor which outputs its peak at 13,000rpm and gives the 173kg bike a 149mph top speed. That makes it six times lighter than an Alpine A110 Pure, if you’re wondering, the variant that MV is said to regard as most akin to the bike because of its focus on riding purity. Hence the carbon fibre, Alcantara and a leather fuel cap strap.
While this make-up is traditional (and largely familiar from the 800 Superveloce), the tech in this Alpine-badged version is said to be of higher, 2021-grade. It’ll be rolled out on MV’s other bikes in due course, but for now, the inclusion of an ABS system that allows for rear wheel lift under heavy braking and a launch control that allows for small wheelies is Alpine Superveloce exclusive. And a bit mad sounding. Both features are said to be there to enhance performance rather than offer childish flamboyancy, with reduced stopping distances and shortened sprint times the result. Think Marc Marquez technique within the remit of an electronic safety net.
Apparently the braking system knows to settle the rear wheel on the ground before some steering angle is applied to the handlebars, and is then smart enough to seamlessly juggle the workload so riders can trail brake “with confidence”. Conversely, the launch control tech will allow some front wheel lift because it ensures the rear tyre can bite harder into the surface. The weight distribution is very “Alpine-like”, with the Superveloce base conveniently nimble in its underlying setup, something that MV reckons will surely lure bike-licence wielding Alpine owners towards its limited-run machine, which is priced from €36,300 in Italy – so it should be about £33k in Britain, if you can get one.
Orders are being taken now from MV’s distributors, with Timur Sardarov, CEO of MV Agusta confidently expecting some buyers to be existing Alpine enthusiasts. He said: “Many Alpine customers are also big MV Agusta fans, and vice-versa”, and that “the Superveloce Alpine will ideally bring the two worlds together, with incredible synergies in terms of design, personality and style”. Managing director of Alpine, Patrick Marinoff, added that the “the two brands are driven by the same passion for creating beautifully engineered products and unique emotions for our customers”. He even hinted that an A110 inspired by MV’s products wasn’t out of the question, although the focus after the bike, he said, was on the French brand’s return to F1 with Fernando Alonso in 2021.
1 / 8