In September, Aprilia unveiled the new RS 457, an A2 sports bike with a new 48 hp twin-cylinder engine. The prototype that has now been photographed indicates that the new engine will also equip a naked model.
Aprilia is expanding the RS model family in 2024 with a sports bike, the Aprilia RS 457. With performance compatible with the A2 segment, it appeals to a younger target audience than the RS 660. However, the Italians also want to assert their sporting vocation in the A2 segment. The power-to-weight ratio should be the best in class and an aluminum frame is also a novelty among A2 sports bikes. There have already been prototypes of naked bikes with the 457 engine. Will there soon be a sporty A2 naked from Noale?
The year is 2020: Aprilia has just developed a twin-cylinder engine based on a halved V4 engine and launched it on the market with the RS 660. The sales figures can definitely be considered a success by Aprilia standards and many people credit the northern Italians with revitalizing the mid-range sports bike segment. However, its naked sister Tuono 660 was hardly able to capitalize on this success. The Aprilia RS 660 was sold 1,024 times in Germany in 2022, putting it in 18th place among the best-selling motorcycles in 2022, while the Tuono 660 didn’t even make the top 50.
So it’s not surprising that a future naked, which is also expected to be based on its little sister the RS 457, will initially follow a different formula: The first images of a prototype suggest an independently positioned model that could be priced noticeably lower than its sporty sibling.