Earlier rumors of an impending purchase by Harley-Davidson of Italian bike maker MV Agusta turned out to be spot-on, as the American Motor Company has officially announced the deal today. The total price for MV, which also owns Cagiva, is reported at about $109 million, with $70 million of that sum required to pay off MV's debt. Claudio Castiglioni, who's family had previously owned the company privately, will remain on board and will serve as Chairman. Castiglioni stands to pocket an undisclosed sum in 2016 if he is able to meet certain stipulated profit goals.
This new deal is an interesting one on a few levels. First, HD already owns a sportbike brand, though its Buell subsidiary plays on a very different level than MV Agusta. The influx of cash from Harley should do wonders for MV's current range of sports and naked bikes, and may allow a greater number of customers access to the storied Italian marque. Consider the fact that Buell was a very small player with a number of quality problems before the Motor Company stepped in and fixed the situation. Additionally, the MV Agusta and Cagiva brands carry quite a strong legacy of high quality machines and will lend instant credibility in Europe and America to Harley's sporting credentials.
First we heard ruminations that India's Tata Motors was considering a purchase of Italian bike manufacturer MV Agusta, followed shortly thereafter by similar rumors regarding Mahindra, another huge Indian automaker. The latest company rumored to be keeping tabs on a possible purchase of MV Agusta is none other than Harley-Davidson, which would provide some rather interesting storylines to consider. For one, HD already owns one sportbike manufacturer in Buell, which even uses Harley V-Twin engines in the majority of its bikes. Therefore, one might question the logic of snatching up another boutique maker of bikes with outwardly sporty intentions. Still, it is a well known fact that Harley-Davidson would like nothing more than to bring younger buyers into its showrooms, which is something that MV Agusta's stunning range of machinery would surely do. For fans of the Italian marque, the idea of Harley infusing some much-needed cash flow into MV should more than offset the shock that the purchase would likely make.
Tata Motors, rumored to have been interested in purchasing a large chunk of Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta, could have some competition. Another large Indian conglomerate, Mahindra & Mahindra may now be interested in a controlling stake in the storied company. According to India Automotive, the potential exists to gain instant traction in the global motorcycle market by picking up MV Agusta, and the Italian company could use the extra funds from a large and profitable company to release a new line of more competitive machines.
Volkswagen, are you paying attention to all of this? As we've previously reported, the German automaker has expressed interest in purchasing an established motorcycle brand, even going so far as to mention Ducati by name. MV Agusta would offer instant credibility and would be a rather easy entrance into the marketplace.
Volkswagen may not be the only auto manufacturer interesting in a storied Italian motorcycle maker. Hot on the heels of its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover, rumors are swirling that Tata may be considering purchasing a stake in MV Agusta. According to a few Indian and Italian sources, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, is reportedly in talks with Claudio Castiglioni, the man running the show at MV Agusta.
Tata's involvement with MV Agusta could inject a unique flavor to the Indian conglomerate's portfolio, which has already been boosted by its acquisition of the two aforementioned classic British marques. A healthy injection of cash could do wonders for MV Agusta as well, considering what it has already proven capable of even in its currently meager financial position.
We've grown rather accustomed to seeing special-edition MV Agusta Brutales, but this is the first time that one has featured four wheels. MV Agusta and Citroën have teamed up to produce a two-door hatchback show car called the C2 1587 Brutale. The naming scheme and the color pallete are clearly inspired by what is arguably Italy's hottest naked bike, the MV Agusta 1078 RR Brutale. We're not clear on what other tie-in exists between the two vehicles beyond that, though. Featuring a 1.6 liter 16-valve engine with 125 hp, the C2 1587 Brutale's power output is nowhere near as impressive as its two-wheeled inspiration. We do like the interior, which features plenty of black leather and alcantara with red outlines and stitching. Ultimately, we feel that this is one mash-up that the world probably could have done without.
Over the weekend, Dylan Weiss from Cry Havoc Productions, Inc. let us know that his latest motorcycle-specific documentary went live at Discovery's Turbo online site. We've spent some time watching the footage, and we think it's awesome. Focusing in on Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Ducati, MV Agusta and Bimota, the crew took plenty of footage home with them and managed to ride some of the greatest modern sportbikes ever created along the way. Best of all, over four hours of video is available online for free at their mini-site, broken down into 50 segments.
The whole shebang was shot in High Definition, so we have some serious hopes that it will air on The Discovery Channel, be offered on DVD or both. It's extremely entertaining and we definitely recommend checking it out.
We are not the only ones who think that the MV Agusta Brutale is the most beautiful bike sans clothing, with the Italian press fawning all over the frenetic four-cylinder sportbike. While we've not been pleased with every take on improving the near-perfect looks of the Brutale, MV Agusta has started to offer some limited editions of the machine with new color and graphics schemes. MV has recently added the Wally Brutale 910 R to the already announced Brutale Hydrogen. This whole special edition series was started by the Italia edition, which was created to commemorate Italy's win in the last World Cup. There isn't much the Italian company can do to improve on the overall design of the Brutale, but having a few extra choices when it comes to what little clothing is draped over the bike is surely a good thing as far as we're concerned.
