VOL. 55 ISSUE 15 APRIL 17, 2018 P95
R&D Technical Director Brian Gillen
says that they've solved the top 10 war-
ranty issues stemming from the three-
cylinder motor, the most significant of
which was the starter clutch assembly.
He also says that MV is going to "start
living more in the virtual world and less
in the physical world," whether that's a
good or a bad thing, time will tell. Dura-
bility testing now starts with computer
modeling, so they can simulate 18,000
miles of wear in 10 days as opposed to
three months.
Later this year, MV Agusta will an-
nounce an all-new four-cylinder engine
to create a new family of bikes—a Brutale
"hypernaked" in 2018, a "neo-classical"
(their interpretation of a café racer in
the MV spirit) in 2019, and a new F4
"hyperbike" in 2020.
The current F4 will get a final send
off, a limited production variant called
the Claudio—named after Giovanni's
late father. Per Gio, it would basically
be Leon Camier's WorldSBK racer with
lights and a license plate, with a price
tag to match.
After a technical presentation and
lengthy dinner on MV's pre-production
manufacturing line with the CEO, Design
Director, and R&D Technical Director, I'm
convinced that MV Agusta has a solid
plan to move forward. Now we'll just
have to see if they can execute.
(Above) American Brian Gillen is MV
Agusta's R&D Technical Director, and he
has a lot to be proud of with the Brutale.
He's leading a push that MV specifies is
"not technology guiding our hands, but
our hands guiding technology."
(Left) Claudio Castiglioni passed away in
2011, but his legacy will live on with the
final edition of the MV Agusta F4.
