MV AGUSTA

After the Second World War the peace treaty forbade Italy from building aircraft, so the Agusta family, whose firm dated from 1923, turned to motorcycles. Meccanica Verghera was registered on 19 January 1945 at Cascina Costa near Milan. The prototype used a 98 cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine and was shown to the press in October 1945; it was first called Vespa 98 and renamed MV 98 to avoid confusion with Piaggio’s scooter.

The MV 98 went into production in 1946, about 50 units in the first year, as the Economica and the more popular Turismo. Much like Enzo Ferrari, the Agusta family sold motorcycles almost exclusively to fund racing, and the first victory came on 6 October 1946, when Vicenzo Nincioni won a road race in La Spezia.