MV Agusta has always been the kind of brand you admire from afar, unless you have pockets deep enough to actually own one. The name alone carries decades of racing history, Italian craftsmanship, and that old school aura of look but don’t touch. Ever since Count Domenico Agusta pushed the company into competition after World War II, MV built its reputation on exclusivity and artistry.
Naturally, all this was great for prestige. But not so great for getting more riders on bikes and bikes off the showroom floor. That’s why hearing the words "affordable" and "MV Agusta" in the same sentence feels strange. This is a company that used to treat motorcycles the way watchmakers treat their heirloom pieces. Ducati, Triumph, and KTM focused on volume while MV focused on perfection.
But as our friends over at MCN recently found out, this might soon be about to change. The brand’s now openly talking about affordability as a real strategy to grow. It’s not a bad approach, but it’s definitely unfamiliar territory.
The updated Brutale 800 is the clearest sign. It still looks sharp, still runs a triple cylinder engine, and still packs the lean sensitive electronics MV fans expect. It makes a claimed 111.5 horsepower at 11,000 rpm and sits right in the middleweight naked category. The twist is the price. It starts at about $13,185 USD (12,600 euros) which suddenly pushes MV into near-reachable territory for riders who always assumed the brand was completely out of budget. Sure, it’s still a bit pricier than a Yamaha MT-09, but the gap’s nowhere near as intimidating as before.
MV says the new mission is simple. Build aspirational bikes that regular riders can actually buy. It makes sense. More people riding MVs means more visibility and more stability for a company that’s had more ups and downs than most manufacturers. The technology lines up with that plan too. Traction control, cornering ABS, and multiple ride modes used to be reserved for MV’s high end models. Now they’re baked into the entry tier.
But here’s the catch. When a luxury brand decides to play in the affordable arena, the reactions get complicated. Look at the watch world. When Omega teamed up with Swatch for the Moonswatch, younger buyers celebrated because they finally had a fun, accessible model tied to one of the most iconic chronographs ever made. Purists, though, cringed hard. They felt the Speedmaster’s halo got chipped. It wasn’t a disaster, but it proved that accessibility can make traditionalists squirm.
MV might face something similar. Open the door too wide and the brand loses that rare air. Keep it too tight and the company stays stuck in niche territory forever. MV’s trying to hit a sweet spot. The future lineup revolves around three platforms. The 800 triple, a 950, and a 1000 four cylinder. The Brutale 800 becomes the entry point. The F3R follows soon after. Even the Turismo Veloce is getting a full refresh. The idea is to give each model family a clear pricing ladder while keeping the halo bikes very premium.
But there’s something else brewing too. MV’s working on a retro-inspired "neoclassic" lineup inspired by the old 921S concept. The production versions won’t use the inline four from the original showbike. Instead, they’ll run a dedicated triple cylinder engine. It sounds like MV wants to tap into emotion and style with a slightly more relaxed mindset. More variety usually helps a brand grow, as long as the bikes still feel distinctly MV.
With all that on the table, it's clear MV Agusta wants so much more than it already has. And if it somehow manages to make aspirational bikes more accessible without losing its identity, other premium names might try the same thing. That means more riders getting a taste of high end design and performance at prices that don’t require fantasy math.
If the shift backfires, though, MV risks losing the magic that made people fall in love with the brand in the first place.
Right now it feels like a carefully measured experiment. MV Agusta’s trying to grow while keeping its soul intact. Whether it works will depend on whether these new bikes still deliver that unmistakable spark that riders expect when they see that iconic emblem on the tank.
Source: MCN
