This lovely 1932 Moto Guzzi P175 is a rare model and a first- year example of a new design for Moto Guzzi, which had only built 500cc flat singles since the company was founded in 1921. Moto Guzzi Società Anonima was established in Genoa, Italy, on March 15, 1921, with headquarters in Mandello del Lario. Founders were Emanuele Vittorio Parodi along with his son Giorgio and friend Carlo Guzzi; the pair had been pilots in the Italian Air Force in WW1, and Moto Guzzi’s eagle logo honors Giovanni Ravelli, another pilot who died during a test flight. Carlo Guzzi and his older brother Giuseppe designed the first prototype, a 500cc machine with a unit-construction engine with a single horizontal cylinder and 4-valve OHC cylinder head, called at first the G.P. (Guzzi-Parodi). The first production Moto Guzzi appeared in 1921, the Normale, with an F-head motor (the OHC motor being too expensive to mass produce); only 17 were built the first year, but production increased every year as the reputation of the company spread and competition success grew. Eventually, 2,065 Normales were built, followed by the Sport (1923-’28), G.T. with rear suspension (1928-’30) and Sport 14 (1928-’30). The Sport 14 had a 498cc OHV engine producing 13.2 HP at 3,800 RPM with a 55 MPH top speed and weighed a svelte 286 pounds. Introduced in 1932, the P175 was Guzzi’s first 175cc machine, built to take advantage of a “lightweight” taxation class. It featured overhead valves for the first time for a general production motor (the 500s used F-head motors at this time, although Moto Guzzi’s racers used OHV and OHC motors). The little engine produced a healthy 7 HP at 5,900 RPM, giving a top speed of 65 MPH, which was considered excellent in the day. In 1934, taxation laws in Italy changed and there was no more advantage to the 175cc capacity, so the engine was enlarged to 250cc with the PE250 model. Thus, the P175 was a short-lived model, making it very rare and the smallest Moto Guzzi of the prewar era. It features a rigid frame with widely splayed tubing giving excellent engine cooling, a sturdy flat-single OHV motor and a 3-speed integral gearbox with hand shift. The styling was lovely and modern, and this rare survivor, fully restored, looks superb in its oxblood red color. T183 1932 Moto Guzzi Single
