Sunday
afternoon, the sun is shinning, red motorcycles as far as the
eye can see, and life is good, in fact it's very good.
Giacomo
Agostini congratulates artist Robert Bullivant on the creation
of the Limited Edition Lithograph entitled Risurrezione
which features the MV Agusta F4, production number 1 of the 300
hand built Gold series bikes, owned by the King of Spain.
A
couple of pristine examples of a rare dirt bike model shown as
part of the Concourse event at the MV Revival #6.
Left
to right: Claudio Castiglioni, CEO of MV Agusta, Count Rocky
Agusta grandson of Count Domenico Agusta, and world champion
MV Agusta pilot Phil Read participate in the unveiling ceremonies
of the F4 print Risurrezione.
Artist
Robert Bullivant looks on as Massimo Tamburini signs the Gold
Series edition of Risurrezione in his offices at
CRC.
More
Gold Series F4's than you are likely to find parked in front
of your local breakfast hang out on a Sunday morning for quite
some time. MV Agusta had a fine display of F4's at the MV Revival
this year, six Gold Series bikes in total...wake me up, I must
be dreaming.
While
Cagiva invited the motorcycle press from around the world to
a test session with the F4 at the Missano race circuit in April,
artist Robert Bullivant had to suffice with 15 minutes of lapping
an oversize parking lot at Agusta Helicopter factory. While Bullivant
found the F4 to be an incredibly agile bike that was eager to
launch its front wheel, the thought of stuffing it up or even
scratching production #4 of the Gold Series, (belonging to Claudio's
son no less), kept dare devil tactics to a bare minimum.
Touted
as "Motorcycle Art" the F4 is an incredibly artistic
metallic sculpture, and an engineering masterpiece. The cast magnesium
swing arm, the beautifully designed one off separate exhaust system,
the unique analog and digital instrumentation and the many engineering
innovations that have been developed to maximize performance and
minimize volume. Tamburini has created a new wave in industrial
two wheel design...as art.
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For
those of you who aren't familiar with MV Agusta's racing history,
it can quickly be summed up in terms of the most successful name
in motorcycle road racing...ever. Seventy-five world championships,
two hundred seventy Grand Prixs, and over three thousand national
and international races with riders like John Surtees, Mike Hailwood,
Phil Read, and the Italian wonderman himself, Giacomo Agostini.
Back
in the 50's and 60's MV was dominating practically every race
it entered, they had the best machines and the best riders. But
motorcycles were not the only thing MV produced, they were also
renowned as one of the premier helicopter manufacturer's, and
they have manufactured various air planes, boats, and other motorized
vehicles over the years.
In
regards to motorcycle production, if the 50's and 60's were MV's
high point, then the 70's would certainly be considered the low.
In 1971, Count Domenico Agusta, the Agusta brother who was the
driving force behind the MV motorcycle division suffered a fatal
heart attack. This sad event would signal the beginning of the
end of MV's domination in motorcycle racing and production. To
add to the difficulties, the mid seventies saw regulation changes
for Grand Prix, and two strokes became the dominant force.
MV
was also focusing heavily on its core business of developing new
helicopters for the Italian military. In 1977 MV decided it was
time to cease production of its two wheeled wonders.
Fast
forward twenty years to 1995. Claudio Castiglioni, CEO of the
Cagiva Groupe, and the manufacturers of other illustrious two
wheeled racing machines such as Ducati and Husqvarna, decides
the time is ripe to resurrect the MV legend. Cagiva buys the rights
to use the MV Agusta name and Claudio immediately puts his top
designer, Massimo Tamburini on the project. Tamburini who has
designed the incredibly successful and benchmark 916 series for
Ducati, as well as several Bimota's (he was a founding partner
of Bimota) was very excited to take on the challenge of creating
the new motorcycle to re-launch the historic MV brand. Four years
in the making, the F4 was designed from a clean sheet of paper
at Cagiva's secretive design center (CRC) in the city of San Marino.
Set atop a mountain along Italy's Adriatic coast, the story book
medieval town is an interesting mix of old with a huge castle
dominating the mountains top and a wall that once surrounded the
entire city, and the new growth of modern San Marino with forefront
companies such as CRC.
MV
Agusta will build just 300 of the hand assembled ORO Series F4's.
They are also producing a Strada (Silver), an SPR, and a Senna
version of the F4. The ORO series are all long spoken for with
over 7,500 request from enthusiast worldwide to buy just 300 bikes
(at approx $ 36,000. U.S. per copy). The ORO Series differs from
the Strada primarily in the materials used for selected components.
The frame, swing arm, and wheels on the ORO Series will be a cast
Magnesium versus an Aluminum Alloy for the Strada Series. Carbon
fiber will be used for the fairings and details of the ORO Series
versus a a plastic composite for the Strada. The SPR features
an enahanced output engine with altered fuel mapping, cams, and
other bits, while the Senna version, is of course a tribute to
one of the greatest racers of all time.
Bullivant
Gallery will be producing just 300 Gold Series lithographs to
precicely match the number of ORO F4's produced. 1,500 Artist
Series lithographs will also be added. Gold Series lithographs
are individually hand signed by designer Massimo Tamburini, CEO
Claudio Castiglioni, and artist Robert Bullivant. Each Gold series
lithograph features a striking, hand guided 23k gold emboss of
the MV logo. Artist Series prints are each hand signed by Robert
Bullivant, and have a standard emboss of the MV logo. Lithographs
are 27" tall, by 38 1/4" wide, and are museum quality
reproduction on a heavy weight, Archival art paper. Exclusively
licensed by MV Agusta.
To
find out more about the print visit Bullivant Gallery's web site:
http://www.bullivantgallery.com
Or
call + 314-865-0077.
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