While we keep our fingers crossed and wait for an announcement on the Aprilia Tuono 660’s impending arrival, the Italian firm keeps us on our toes. On June 19, 2020, it launched a new modern café racer, the Aprilia Pagani 150 broke. Folks, it’s a sight to behold.
The good news is that the bike looks absolutely stunning and that—we can hope—it will inspire future Aprilia designs. The bad news is that we won’t see it here. The bike was developed by Zongshen Piaggio Foshan Motorcycle—the Piaggio and Zongshen joint venture as the name suggests—and launched as a Chinese exclusivity. Now, we can choose to be envious and bitter about that or we can decide to be curious and find out more about what the new baby Aprilia has to offer. We choose to be curious.
Meanwhile In America:
The new Pagani is based on the existing Aprilia CR150 with the addition of an old school-looking fairing. It uses the same engine, a 150cc single-cylinder rated at 18 horsepower and 10 lb-ft of torque, teamed with a six-speed transmission. Support is provided by an inverted fork at the front and a set of dual shocks at the back while braking duty is entrusted to a pair of petal discs. The model receives a mode list of accessories with a digital gauge and the ABS listed as its fanciest features. Pricing is set at 21,800 Chinese Yuan which converts to a minuscule $3,080 American moneys—a shocking price tag for an Aprilia (by our standards).
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time we hear the name Pagani. Chances are you’ve seen the Pagani badge ornate the hood of some of the world’s most exclusive, Italian-made cars. Aprilia’s Pagani, however, was borrowed from , an Italian brand revived by Piaggio. This Aprilia pretty much is a rebadged Mondial Pagani 1948.
Though we doubt that Aprilia will shed its high-end image here in the West anytime soon, one can always dream that it eventually will create more accessible, mainstream products. We sure wouldn’t mind seeing something like the Aprilia Pagani 150 come to America...