History
The history of MV Agusta has something of the epic: a company founded on the intuitions of a great man who made an Italian brand truly great throughout the world.
From Aviation to Motorcycling
The name Agusta first rose to prominence in the early twentieth century. It belonged to a pioneer of the fledgling Italian aeronautics industry, count Giovanni Agusta. Born in Sicily, he later moved to Lombardy and in 1907 founded his company at "Cascina Costa" in Samarate (Varese). Production of Agusta aircraft soared during the First World War, when the Count also signed up as a volunteer in the Malpensa Air Battalion ...
The First MV Agusta
In the autumn of 1945 the first MV Agusta was presented to the public. It was supposed to be called the "Vespa 98", but the name had already been registered. And so it was referred to simply as the "98", available in "Touring" and "Economical" versions. Deliveries began in 1946, the year MV Agusta officially began competing in endurance races. It didn’t have to wait long for its first ...
The Boom Of The 50's
Motorcycle racing resumed in the early fifties. MV Agusta became a racing legend thanks to outstanding progress in performance and technology. The publicity generated by its competitive success brought Cascina Costa increased sales of its range of versatile, economical bikes that responded perfectly to market demand. Moreover, racing generated offshoots such as the sumptuous 4-cylinder 4-stroke 500 Turismo and the sporty 125 Motore Lungo, named so because of the lengthened ...
1960 to 1980
The 1960s saw the advent of mass car ownership, causing a sharp slowdown in the motorcycle market. MV Agusta reacted to this shift in consumer tastes with true enterprising spirit by offering new models that would continue to appeal to motorcycle enthusiasts. Of these, the one that went down in history was the 600, the first maxi motorbike on the market to offer a four-cylinder engine. Derived from Mike Hailwood ...
From Cascina Costa To Schiranna
After the controversy surrounding the Iannucci affair had died down, MV Agusta was back in the news in the spring of 1992 thanks to an unexpected statement from Cagiva Motor's press office. It was officially announced that ownership of the Cascina Costa trademark would go to Castiglioni's group following lengthy negotiations with a number of interested parties in finance and industry. The only thing under negotiation was ownership ...