MV Agusta makes the exotic Brutale 1000 a little more accessible

MV Agusta, an Italian firm that specializes in exceptionally quick and correspondingly expensive motorcycles, has released a more affordable version of the Brutale 1000 RR called Brutale 1000 RS. Due out as a 2022 model, the RS is more accessible than the RR because it's cheaper and was designed to be easier to ride on a daily basis.

While the RS is markedly softer than the RR, its performance figures remain nothing short of jaw-dropping. It's a 410-pound machine powered by a 998-cc four-cylinder engine that develops 208 horsepower at a screaming 13,000 rpm. For context, it weighs about 2,000 pounds less than a 2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and it offers 27 additional horsepower from an engine roughly as big as the Ford Fiesta's EcoBoost triple, that revs higher than a Mazda RX-8's rotary. Unsurprisingly, top speed checks in at over 186 mph — if you dare take the RS that high.

Achieving these figures was easier said than done. MV Agusta notably used a light crankshaft, titanium connecting rods, and a total of eight fuel injectors. It also fitted the RS with Brembo brakes on both wheels, launch and wheelie control technologies, and a traction control system with eight different levels of assistance plus an off position. There's an adjustable Öhlins steering damper, but the RR's semi-active Öhlins suspension system has been left out.