Letter From Europe

LETTER FROM Europe

Aprilia expansion

At a recent press conference, Aprilia boss Ivano Beggio announced a budget of about $4.5 million to be spent over the next five years in expanding his family-owned company’s R&D department. In doing so, he also released information about the range of engines that Aprilia is presently developing for use in the immediate future. These will be built by Aprilia’s traditional engine supplier, Rotax, but with much greater Aprilia input into their design than has been the case in the past.

Appearing first (perhaps at this September’s Cologne show) should be the all-new, dohc, liquidcooled 650cc four-stroke Single, using a unique cylinder head. Following that will be a 125cc twostroke of unknown configuration but widely reported to be a V-Twin; both 750 and lOOOcc multi-valve four-stroke V-

Twins; and a 250/350cc, rotary-valve, liquidcooled two-stroke VTwin. The last is based on the AF1V engine cur-

rently being raced by Loris Reggiani in the GPs. Beggio also announced plans for a small series of at least 25 Reggiani rep-

licas to be built before the end of 1988 for customer use, as well as Aprilia’s intention to enter the Paris-Dakar with a factory team mounted on prototypes of the new 650 Single.

Not bad for a company that had just 1 5 employees in 1978. Since then, Aprilia has grown to a firm employing over 300 people and is challenging Güera to be market leader of the Italian motorcycle industry. “We plan to be three times bigger in 1992 than we are now, ready to take advantage of the economic unification of the European Common Market,” says Beggio.

“But at the same time, we wish to increase our overseas exports, especially to the USA and Japan, by a substantial amount.” So, as soon as some of the new Aprilia-Rotax engines and the motorcycles they power appear, expect Aprilia dealerships to start opening in the U.S.

Alan Cathcart