In an interview with an international media company, MV Agusta’s CEO, Timur Sardarov, revealed that the Italian motorcycle brand will release a line-up of 350cc, twin-cylinder bikes.
Sardarov was quoted saying, “MV Agusta is entering the biggest relevant market in the world, which is 350cc to 500cc. We are coming up with a new 350cc engine, we have it, it’s a twin. So, we are going to have a two-cylinder 350cc. MV Agusta is going to embrace more lower displacement, high performance, in its technology.”
While it was known from July 2019 that the company was working on 350-500cc bikes with Chinese manufacturer Loncin, what wasn’t known is the fact that these machines will be powered by a twin-cylinder engine. That said, the configuration – whether it is a V-twin or parallel-twin configuration – remains to be seen.
As per the agreement, MV Agusta will design and develop four models, while the Loncin Motor Company will manufacture these motorcycles in China to cater to Asian markets. MV Agusta says the low-displacement motorcycles will retain its brand DNA – the unique style, sound, and vehicle dynamics. The first of these motorcycles will make their debut by end-2021.
MV specifies that the motorcycles will be ‘completely designed’ by them, but we’re not certain if this means that the entire chassis and drivetrain will be a fresh creation from Italy, or whether the bikes will be based on a Loncin platform. Nothing else has been revealed so far in terms of engine layout, but if these bikes are completely new developments, it’s likely that they will fall under the existing MV family lines of naked, sport and sport-touring machines. Continuing in that line of thought, these small-capacity motorcycles may well feature similar styling themes and with trellis frames underneath.
As for when these motorcycles will debut, we expect that to be towards the end of 2020 at EICMA.