Hi Guys!

When OH When are we expecting the F4 millie (as i am told it is called!)The world is looking towards Italy BIG TIME at the minute but at DUCATI! There MotoGP bike is jaw dropping gorgeous and how long d you think it would be before they build a roadbike??

If anyone can offer ANY information whatsoever on the bike AT ALL i would very much appreciate it!

(The F4 is asthetically and dynamically the best bike in the world it just needs 1000cc and a couple of seasons in SBK!)

-- Jamie Singh (jamiesingh@orange.net), April 06, 2003

Answers

You may want to take a look at Castigioni's interview on MV's website: http://www.mvagusta.com/2003mvagusta/interview.html

Here are some excerpts:

F4 Mille: AC: But how about the long-awaited F5, the 1000cc version of the MV F4 which you've been successfully developing in endurance racing for the past year or more? When do you plan to launch this - and has Tamburini already finished his work on the styling?

CC: The F4 Mille will be launched as a 2004 model, with the first customer bikes entering production in November, and the first 300 we will make will be a CRC Speciale version called the F4 Mille Tamburini, with certain special features I won't disclose now. Probably, we will launch it at the Milan Show in September - but supplies will be available very soon afterwards, which was a mistake we made in the past we won't repeat again. Then, after that, the F4 Mille S volume production models will begin production early in 2004. As far as aesthetics are concerned, the styling will remain essentially unchanged, because we believe this is a timeless work of art which will be as desirable ten years from now as it was the day it was launched -

AC: Loud and clear! But I've also heard the F4 Mille is delivering some pretty impressive performance in pre-production testing. Can you confirm that?

CC: Let's just say that the version we will sell to the public will deliver 180 bhp in street-legal form. That's not a figure plucked out of the air, but real horsepower - your readers can hold me to it. The prototype street bike has already lapped Nardo at more than 300 kph. Look - it's a function of the radial-valve technology which we employ in the engine, which gives a huge advantage between 10,000 rpm and 13,900 rpm, which is where we will place the limiter on the streetbike, although on the engine dyno it's proved safe to rev it consistently to 14,700 rpm. When you ride it, the engine note suddenly changes when you reach those revs - it starts to almost whistle through the intakes in a very distinctive way, and there's a significant improvement in performance. It's incredibly exciting when it happens - just you wait and see when you ride it!

600cc F4 possibility: AC: Looking into the future, what new MV Agusta models are you envisaging? How about a sports tourer, or a 600 Supersport contender?

CC: Look, Alan - MV Agusta has a very specific image which we will guard closely. It's a marque with the most glorious sporting history on two wheels, which means we can only contemplate making hypersports models or ultra-aggressive, stripped-out Naked bikes. So - no, definitely no sports tourer. But a 600cc four-cylinder Supersport F3? Absolutely yes, of course that will come in due course, once we've firmly re-established the company and have achieved profitability. I'd guess this is something we can project for 2006 or so - and when we do it, it'll be like the F4, the pinnacle of desirability and performance in its category.

-- Allan Gibbs (Phoenix, Arizona) (AGibbs996@aol.com), April 06, 2003.