MV Agusta

A history spanning 81 years

MV Agusta was founded on 19 January 1945 at Cascina Costa di Samarate, in the province of Varese, as a diversification of the historic Agusta aviation company, set up in the 1920s by Count Giovanni Agusta. In the immediate post-war years, with aircraft production heavily restricted, the Agusta family, led by Domenico Agusta, decided to invest in two-wheeled engineering: so Meccanica Verghera was born, whose initials MV would become one of the most famous and best-loved names in the history of world motorcycling.

The marque's first bike, the MV 98, a lightweight single-cylinder two-stroke, was unveiled as early as the autumn of 1945. From then on MV Agusta set out on a path that would make it, within a few years, one of the most successful names in motorcycle racing history, thanks to a racing department able to attract some of the greatest riders of all time.

The Racing Legend

Between the 1950s and the 1970s MV Agusta built a racing record that remains an absolute benchmark, winning numerous world titles across the classes with riders such as Carlo Ubbiali, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and Phil Read. The most famous chapter, however, was written with Giacomo Agostini, who between 1965 and 1976 became the most successful rider in motorcycling history on MVs, winning 13 world titles with the Cascina Costa factory, along with numerous Italian championships and Isle of Man TT victories.

The Vintage Motorcycles That Made History

Success on the track was quickly reflected in the road bikes, which immediately became cult objects. Among them stands out the 1954 175 CSS, nicknamed the "Disco Volante" (flying saucer) for the shape of its fuel tank, still one of the most sought-after bikes among collectors. The 1970s brought the legendary 750 S "America", a sporty four-cylinder with unmistakable looks, considered one of the most appealing Italian grand tourers ever built.

After the death of Count Domenico Agusta in 1971 and Agostini's last world title win in 1976, the company went through a difficult period that led, in 1977, to the closure of the racing department and a gradual scaling back of motorcycle production, until it almost disappeared during the 1980s.

The Revival and the Present Day

The marque returned to the spotlight in the 1990s, when it resumed production of strongly sporting road bikes, culminating in the 1997 launch of the F4, followed later by the Brutale naked bike: two models that put MV Agusta back at the centre of the world motorcycling scene, recalling in their design and name the prestige earned over decades of racing.

Even today, for fans of vintage and modern classic motorcycles, MV Agusta is one of the most fascinating names in Italian motorcycling: a marque that turned racing speed into an elegance recognisable at a glance, able to span almost eight decades without losing its identity.