MV snaps up rare '50s racer
Italian brand MV Agusta recently acquired one of its historic 1950s race bikes, and is now restoring it in its new Restoration DepartmentWhen an ultra-rare and historic MV Agusta 175/204 CSS racer recently turned up on a European auction website, MV's management moved quickly to secure the 1950s gem. The Italian brand is now hard at work returning it to factory-fresh condition.
The bike was originally sold by Stanley Hailwood, father of nine-time World Motorcycle Champion Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood, to British rider and collector Chris Newport in 1958. Newport campaigned the bike in amateur road races in Britain for several years, before selling it himself.
The bike disappeared from public view for decades before resurfacing in the Netherlands in 2012, before it was listed for auction just recently. A member of MV Agusta management spotted the listing and promptly secured the precious machine.
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The MV Agusta CSS was originally a 175cc four-stroke single that was later modified to give a capacity of 204cc.
The example in question still retains many of its original parts and components, including the engine, the TT Amal carburetors (here in a double racing configuration), the 'green spot' Avon tyres, Smiths racing tacho and megaphone exhaust.
The top-selling MV Agusta 175 series first appeared in 1952 and continued until 1960. This 175 CSS – or Super Sport variant – arrived in 1954 and, like the 175 CS model before it, was nicknamed the Disco Volante, or Flying Saucer, due to its futuristic, space-age-inspired fuel tank.
"We're all very excited here at MV's Schiranna headquarters," said Timur Sardarov, CEO, MV Agusta Motor S.p.A.
"This extraordinary bike is coming home to where it was born some 70 years ago.
"It's a magnificent first project for the newly born Restoration Department: we will now be able to bring precious vintage bikes back to their original condition here at the MV Agusta factory, through the work of the passionate heirs of the very craftsmen who built them."
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