1610 RF final

MV Agusta F4Z
MV Agusta F4Z unveiled, has been built for a rich Japanese
businessman with impeccable taste in motorcycles. The
F4Z is the first motorcycle that Zagato have ever designed,
and it’s brilliant!
Now that Massimo Tamburini is no more,
MV Agusta have had to turn to the Milanbased
automotive coachbuilder, Zagato,
for a special one-off motorcycle that looks
like nothing else on the planet. The thing
about Zagato is that they don’t do ‘nice.’
Cars designed by Zagato are a bit dark,
a bit menacing. If Zagato were human,
he might be Ronnie Kray, in the movie
Legend. Not to be messed with.
Some of Zagato’s best work has been
with Aston Martin (like the DB7 Zagato
and the DBS Coupe Zagato Centennial),
though they also built some brilliant cars
for Alfa Romeo and Lancia. And yet, a
collaboration between MV Agusta and
Zagato is not necessarily a recipe for
success. Whenever car designers have
turned their attention to motorcycles,
the results haven’t always been very
good. Remember the Pinifarina-designed
Morbidelli V8? Or the Lamborghini Design
90? Er.. yeah, well.
Then again, the F4Z is different. Unveiled
at the third international Concours
d’Elegance Chantilly Arts & Elegance, it’s
the first Atelier motorcycle that Zagato
have ever designed and... we think it’s
not bad at all. Sure, it isn’t ‘beautiful’ in
the conventional sense, not in the way
you’d call an F4 or a 916 or a Panigale
‘beautiful.’ Of course it isn’t. It’s been
designed by Zagato, who don’t do ‘nice,’
remember? It’s low, mean,
hunkered-down and subtly
aggressive. If Ronnie Kray were
a bike, he might be the F4Z.
The F4Z, built as a one-off
machine for a wealthy Japanese
collector (who collects Zagato
cars and Italian motorcycles),
is based on the regular MV F4
and is built with aluminium and
carbonfibre. The bike consists of
a small number of relatively large
panels, a characteristic which
sets it apart from more mundane, massproduced
machines. The MV Agusta F4’s
inline-four engine, chassis and suspension
are all stock items, but the intake
manifolds, fuel tank and exhaust system
are all bespoke.
“For the company founded by Ugo Zagato
in 1919, that specialised in light 2-door
/ 2-seat bodies right from the start, the
MV Agusta F4Z represents a digression
beyond the car universe. Nowadays,
Zagato is a modern total design centre and
coachbuilding Atelier, able to blend and
balance the most advanced engineering
technologies, the use of innovative
materials and the traditional workshop
production procedures,” says a press note
from Zagato. “The design team of the
Zagato Atelier had to tackle the challenge
of creating a bike that would interpret
the lifestyle of the customer, a young
Japanese businessman. The starting point
was the notion that a motorbike expresses
its owner’s lifestyle a lot more than a car.
Therefore, it was essential to know and
understand the character, passions and
wishes of the person to whom the bike
was destined,” it adds.
The F4Z’s Japanese owner, according to
Zagato, did not want anything modern
or fashionable, but something that could
keep its value and appeal for a long, long
time. What he wanted was a motorcycle
that wasn’t comparable to any other.
That was classic, but always up to date.
And with a timeless design. We think
Zagato have delivered, and it’s mission
accomplished for the Milanese company.
6 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016