This spectacular, low-mileage MV Agusta 750S America is surely one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made, built by the “Ferrari of Motorcycles.” MV Agusta was synonymous with Grand Prix victory from the 1950s through 1970s, taking hundreds of wins and a remarkable 37 World Championships in all engine capacities. The most famous of all their models were the four-cylinder “Gallarate Fire Engines,” the all-red, howling fours that dominated the 500cc Grand Prix class from 1957 onwards. Count Domenico Agusta was the man behind the brand, whose only real interest was racing, but to justify the expense, he also built excellent road machines that basked in the race team’s glory. Count Agusta hired Gilera’s genius engine designer Piero Remor in 1952, with a brief to design a new 4-cylinder DOHC racer, just like the Gilera that currently held the World Championship. MV’s new fours were soon the equal or better of any other 500cc Grand Prix bike, and after 1956, when BMW, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and NSU quit their sponsorship of GP racing due to economic conditions, MV Agusta collected World Championships titles by the dozen. Even after the mighty Japanese companies entered the 350cc and 500cc Grand Prix in the 1960s, MV Agusta was the only European factory that fended off all comers in the 500cc class and took their last World Championship in 1974, along with second place in the world title in 1975 with two-strokes from Yamaha barking at their heels. MV Agusta teased the introduction of a 4-cylinder road bike in the late 1950s at the Milan Motorcycle Show but only introduced its first 4-cylinder road model in 1965. Nicknamed “the Black Pig,” that first 600cc machine had ungraceful styling but an exceptional motor. In 1969, they made what the world really wanted, the 750 Sport with full 748cc motor and excellent café racer styling. With its organic, feminine curves contrasted with “that” engine, there was simply no competition in the beauty stakes, or in performance, as the MV Agusta was the fastest 4-cylinder bike in the world. It also handled like a proper Italian race-bred motorcycle, unlike its Japanese competition, and was a simply exquisite machine, although very expensive, so not many were sold, making this a rare and coveted example. This exquisite 1976 MV Agusta 750 America was built for the American market, with special Grand Prix style bodywork and fairing as standard, poached directly from the factory’s last 500cc Grand Prix racers. With twin Brembo discs up front, solid Marzocchi forks, a stout twin-tube loop frame and a fast motor, the 750 America was wildly expensive but also claimed to be the fastest street legal production road motorcycle, depending on the specification from the factory. S178.1 1976 MV AGUSTA 750S AMERICA
