Aprilia

Aprilia

Given that EICMA is Aprilia's home expo, the Italian brand had a relatively quiet 2022 in new ICE model terms, but does its ELECTRICa concept signal a potentially huge shift to battery power in the near future?

ELECTRICa concept

The Piaggio Group as a whole has already made several moves to electric power, but the ELECTRICa is the first to come from its sportiest brand. Aprilia's model is no superbike, though, instead drawing on the days when every teenager lusted after a learner-legal Aprilia 50 cc or 125 cc machine. No power or performance figures have been mentioned yet, but Aprilia says the bike is aimed at the youngest of riders, hinting that it may fall into the moped category, allowing users as young as 14 in some European countries. The motor is mounted on the front of the swingarm, rather like Vmoto's new Stash model and some other Chinese-made models. Piaggio is a member of the European Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium, so it is likely that the ELECTRICa will use a standardised, swappable battery rather than an integral unit.

RS660 Extrema

Aprilia's primary ICE news was the RS660 Extrema, a high-end version of the existing RS660 sports bike, stripped back to improve its power-to-weight ratio. An SC-Project exhaust, carbon body components and a single-seat rear end help bring the power to 100 hp and the kerb weight down to an impressive 166 kg including fuel, while new quickshifter software allows you to switch to an upside-down shift pattern for track use without changing any components.