MV Agusta Cinque Cilindri: the new five-cylinder U engine

Five-cylinder engines have never been commonplace in the automotive world, and in the two-wheeled sector they are rarer still. That is exactly the territory MV Agusta has chosen to explore, unveiling a new five-cylinder engine at EICMA - the world’s largest motorcycle show. The Italian manufacturer is already developing it at its Schiranna facility in Italy.

Called simply Cinque Cilindri, it is not a conventional five-cylinder engine either. It is neither an inline unit like that in the Audi RS 3, nor a V5 or VR5 of the kind fitted to several Volkswagen Group models. Its layout is genuinely unusual.

MV Agusta has selected a U configuration, using two crankshafts rather than the single crankshaft normally expected: a front crankshaft serving three cylinders and a rear one for the remaining two. In technical terms, it is like having an inline triple and an inline twin operating side by side, connected to the same output shaft.

Although this arrangement is highly unusual and almost non-existent, it is not without precedent. Comparable ideas have appeared in motorcycles such as the Ariel Square Four and Suzuki RG500 Gamma, as well as in cars including the Bugatti Type 45 and Type 47 - genuine 16-cylinder U-engine “monsters”.

What are the advantages of this U five-cylinder engine?

First and foremost, it makes for a particularly compact engine. The Italian marque says its Cinque Cilindri unit is narrower than an inline four-cylinder engine and shorter than a V4 - two layouts widely used in today’s superbikes.

MV Agusta also states that the five-cylinder engine’s specific firing order delivers especially linear torque and greater smoothness, avoiding the need for more complex solutions such as variable valve timing.

Promising figures

Turning to the numbers, it is still too early for detailed specifications. However, MV Agusta has made clear that this exotic five-cylinder engine will be offered in several versions, with clear ambitions to serve a range of segments, from Supersport models to Touring motorcycles.

The Cinque Cilindri has been designed as a modular engine, with planned capacities ranging from 850 cm³ to 1150 cm³. MV Agusta has announced peak figures for the engine, and they are striking: it promises more than 240 hp at more than 16,000 rpm, along with up to 135 Nm of torque at 8,500 rpm. Those figures place it above most current superbikes.

All this is claimed with a weight below 60 kg, helped by features including electric water and oil pumps, intended to improve the engine’s efficiency and response.

When will it arrive?

For now, MV Agusta has not confirmed which model will debut the Cinque Cilindri. It has only said that it will be a “highly anticipated” motorcycle returning to the brand’s range in the coming years.

One thing is certain: in the current high-performance motorcycle landscape, there is unlikely to be anything more exotic or ambitious than this Italian five-cylinder engine. At least on paper, the Cinque Cilindri represents precisely what MV Agusta promises: “a new benchmark for performance, innovation and Italian engineering.”