January 3, Guangdong Zhaoqing GIC (Guangdong International Circuit), Zongshen Aprilia Apulia GPR250R Unified Race Zhaoqing Station & G Racing Jinkana Grand Prix held during zongshen . Piaggio Foshan Motorcycle Enterprise Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zongshen. In an interview, the representative of Piaggio announced a series of new future developments, one of which is the proposed introduction to the country of a new model equipped with a V-type two-cylinder engine with a displacement of 900 cc class engine.
The interview meeting at the event site, from the left in the picture below: Zong Shen. Vice President of R&D of Piaggio Mr. Marcello Fiaccavento, Zongshen. General Manager of Piaggio Mr. Yu Ziqiang, Zong Shen. Mr. Vittorio Ferrari, OEM Director of Piaggio.
Although no further information about the new car was disclosed at the scene of the interview, an obvious judgment will be made at Zongshen. The V-type two-cylinder, 900 cc class new car produced by Piaggio will most likely be the same platform model as the SL 900 Shiver sports street car and the SMV 900 Dorsoduro road-to-road (also known as the skid tire) currently on sale in overseas markets.
We will next spend two consecutive installments to provide some introductions to the two models currently on sale at aprilia Apulia. This issue will briefly describe the development of these two cars.
Apulia's original four-stroke V2 production model was the RSV 1000 Mille, released in 1997 (launched the following year), which was powered by a V-type 60-degree two-cylinder engine with a displacement of 997.6 cc from the Austrian Rotax. Subsequently, in 1998, the SL 1000 Falco was released as a sports station wagon (a sports street car with a front fairing) on the same power platform, and by the turn of the millennium there was a truly sport wagon-style RST 1000 Futura and an expedition car-style ETV 1000 Caponord. By 2001, the sports street car Touno 1000 with the power platform was launched.
Back in 1998, Apulia unveiled the SL Shiver concept car at an exhibition event, which was the debut of the name Shiver.
In 2006, the Shiver sports street car and the Dorsoduro road bike series were officially born: the SL 750 Shiver, the SMV 750 Dorsoduro. The two models share a new V-type 90-degree two-cylinder, DOHC four-cylinder engine with a maximum horsepower output of 95 hp. These two new cars have extraordinary significance for Apulia:
1. The power platform is a road motorcycle engine designed, developed and manufactured entirely by Piaggio Group and applied to the Apulia product line;
2. This is the first production model in Apulia equipped with a wire-controlled throttle (electronically controlled throttle). The on-line throttle is a technology from the racetrack, and the first application on two-wheeled motorcycles came from Apulia – as early as 2002, the MotoGP racing RS3 Cube with a four-stroke inline three-cylinder engine in Apulia became the first car equipped with an electronically controlled throttle and entered the practical application stage, and other manufacturers have followed suit since then.
In addition to the 750 platform, Apulia also introduced the V-type 90-degree two-cylinder 850 platform (displacement 839.3 cc) during the same period: the first model with the 850 power platform was the sports street car NA 850 Mana, and by 2011, one of the largest displacement pedals in the history of the production car, the SRV850, was introduced. Another manufacturer's product, the Gilera GP800, also uses this powerplant.
By 2010, the 1200 platform with greater displacement was unveiled: the same V-type 90-degree two-cylinder, with an expanded exhaust capacity of 1,197 cc and a maximum power output of 130 hp (SMV 1200 Dorsoduro). There are two models using this power platform: the SMV 1200 Dorsoduro, a road-to-road vehicle first released in 2010, and the ETV 1200 Caponord, the adventure model first released in 2012, but the life cycle of the 1200 platform is not long.
In June 2017, Apulia unveiled a new 900 power platform, maintaining the original V-type 90-degree two-cylinder and DOHC four-cylinder valve per cylinder in the engine type. There are two models in the application, which are mentioned at the beginning of this article, the most likely to achieve localization of the SL 900 Shiver sports street car, smV 900 Dorsoduro road off-road. These two models are still an important part of Apulia's overseas market product line.
According to information obtained last year, Zongshen. Piaggio's proposed localization of the V2 900 platform is likely to localize the SL 900 Shiver street car and the SMV 900 Dorsoduro off-road vehicle. It is not known whether it will be extended to more types of products such as adventure cars, sports cars, GT station wagons and so on.
Picture below, 2017' SL 900 Shiver Sport StreetCar, SMV 900 Dorsoduro Off-Road (Data Image).
In the next issue, we will give a brief introduction to the SL 900 Shiver street car and the SMV 900 Dorsoduro road trip.