a red metal gate. It hides from view an almost magical world, the result of a hundred years of intuition, passion, competitions, technological innovation, style, self-denial and the ability to keep up with the times without abandoning one’s origins.
It is located in Mandello del Lario, eastern shore of Lake Como, in via Parodi 63 and boasts the image of a huge eagle. the driveway entrance to the Moto Guzzi factory, a brand that now celebrates a hundred years of history and like few others in the world able to keep its charm intact. A place in many ways out of time yet, the cradle of modern and disruptive ideas where all the Moto Guzzi bikes listed in the price list are still produced today – and where they will be produced for a long time.
Capacity for innovation, courage in being able to anticipate the times, competitive spirit, love for the product and meticulous attention to the quality of the productions are the talents that Moto Guzzi has been able to combine over the years with a unique relationship with its territory -, underlines Roberto Colaninno, President and CEO of the Piaggio Group -. From 1921 to today, every Moto Guzzi born in the Mandello factory, right where the story began exactly a century ago. And all of this will continue in its second century of history as well. An all-Italian excellence that has made the history of our country without ever getting old and that continues to inspire the most authentic passion of thousands of Guzzisti all over the world.
Yes, because it is true that Guzzi 100% Italian pride, equally indubitable that the eagle brand has extraordinary strength even on the other side of the planet. Try asking an American or an Australian what he thinks of Mandello’s bikes …
A legend born in Genoa a century ago thanks to the vision of three men in arms during the First War. Carlo Guzzi and Giorgio Parodi founded the Moto Guzzi Anonymous Company in 1921 which, in memory of the aviator friend Giovanni Ravelli, was associated with the logo of the eagle with spread wings.
From then on, a success story, both sporting and commercial, which has reached today without solution of continuity. From the first motorcycle to come out of the gates of Mandello, the Normale, to the current editions of the centenary, the Moto Guzzi bikes have been able to cross eras creating a very particular aura around them, made up of models that sometimes marked the way using the technological lever, while others they interpreted the needs of potential customers becoming a phenomenon of custom.
What a motorcycle enthusiast not left speechless in front of the Otto Cilindri? Daughter of the genius of Giulio Cesare Carcano, a torpedo (also to be seen) capable, in 1955, of reaching 285 per hour. Its crankshaft – it is said – cost as much as twenty mopeds of the time. And what about the V7 which today, 56 years after its first appearance, is still the best-selling Guzzi model? She too was born from an intuition of Carcano who, legend has it, conceived the innovative longitudinal twin-cylinder engine to equip a sports version of the Fiat 500.
But Guzzi was also the bike of the 14 World Titles, speed records, the brand entered the collective imagination because it is used by the Police, the Army, the Californian, German and many European cities, as well as by the king’s guard of Jordan and the legendary Corazzieri, escort of the President of the Republic. But we cannot overlook the role that certain unforgettable models such as Airone 250 and Galletto played in the process of mass motorization of our country in the 1950s.
And then there is the aptitude for great travels, starting from 1928 when Giuseppe Guzzi, brother of the founder, reached the Arctic Circle on the GT 500 Norge. A spirit that will undoubtedly animate – if possible – the participants in the Moto Guzzi World Days on 9-12 September next, the culmination of a truly special birthday celebration.
March 15, 2021 (change March 15, 2021 | 19:10)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
