Piaggio’s head of design, Marco Lambri, hints at the possibility of a naked derivative of the RS 457 sportbike.
Aprilia is ramping up its efforts in the middleweight segment, as can be seen with the recent launch of the made-in-India RS 457 sportbike at India Bike Week 2023. However, it’s quite likely that the Italian manufacturer will also back this up with a street naked derivative of the RS, which, if Aprilia follows its usual nomenclature trends, could be called the Tuono 457.
With most all-new motorcycles these days, we see manufacturers using them as a platform to spawn derivative models – spreading the development costs of a new chassis and engine platform across multiple different models helps make it more commercially viable. This is something that we have seen Aprilia itself implement to great success in the past – the RSV4 superbike and Tuono V4 supernaked share the same platform, and the RS 660 sportbike has also spawned the Tuono 660 street naked and even the Tuareg 660 adventure bike.
During a recent conversation with Marco Lambri, Design Director at Piaggio, we proposed the idea of a Tuono 457 to him. With a wry smile on his face, he simply said, “Why not? Why not.”
The conversation was then deftly diverted towards a different topic by the PR professionals overseeing the interview, which in itself says quite a lot. While Lambri’s response was certainly not a confirmation that Aprilia is definitely working on a Tuono 457, it does undoubtedly keep the possibility very much alive, and arguably even adds to its credibility.
The Rs 4.1 lakh (ex-showroom) launch price of the RS 457 was a little higher than we were expecting, and introducing a Tuono 457 would also allow the company to lower the entry threshold to its motorcycle lineup in India. The Tuono 660 and Tuono V4 are both more affordable than their fully faired counterparts in overseas markets where they are sold together.
If a Tuono 457 does come to fruition in the future, expect it to sport more upright ergos than the RS, with a flatter handlebar and less expansive bodywork. The 457cc parallel-twin engine should be carried over largely unchanged, so you can expect a power figure close to the 50hp mark. It will very likely be built alongside the RS 457 here in India at Aprilia’s Baramati plant, and could slot in just under the Rs 4 lakh mark once launched here.