For years, Chinese motorcycle manufacturers have had to load with the reputation of copying Western designs without too many. However, the current reality is much more complex. Companies like QjMotorunder the umbrella Qianjiangthey have gone from imitating to establish strategic collaborations with European historical brands.
The best example of this transition is the new QjMotor Super4a light sport that clearly drinks from the aesthetics of the MV Agusta Superveloce. But, eye, it cannot simply be considered plagiarism due to the close links that exist between both companies.
The resemblance to the Superveloce It is no accident. QjMotor He had already demonstrated his interest in that aesthetic line with the Super9presented in China in 2023. That model not only copied the retro-fouturist air of MVbut incorporated technology from the Italian firm. That is, a 921 cc tetrachindric engine of origin MVin addition to a chassis and a skillful monobrazo inspired by those of the Brutale.
This is the super4 qjmotor
The connection does not end there. Before even launching your offensive with QjMotorthe matrix Qianjiang had shuffled the possibility of using MV engines in models of Benellibrand that also controls since the beginning of the 2000. In return, the plan was to help MV create a more accessible and more volume range. From that intention the Lucky Explorer 5.5a half -displacement trail that was presented as a prototype in the EICMA 2021.
That motorcycle used a bicylindrical derived from QjMotor and shared a frame with the Benelli Trk502although the project faded after the entrance of KTM in MV Agusta and the change of strategy of Stefan Piererfocused on reinforcing the premium range. Today, with MV Agusta Again under the control of its former owners, after the brief Austrian stage, the future opens again to more flexible collaborations. And there is where the Super4.
The chosen engine is not new in the catalog of QjMotor. It is a bicilindrical in parallel of 449 cc, capable of render 52 hp at 9,500 rpm. It is not a dazzling figure, but appropriate for a dry 179 kg motorcycle and promises to reach 190 km/h of maximum speed. These figures place the Super4 in an intermediate field between the initiation sports of 300/400 CC and the medium -cut bicilindrical naked.
Its wheelbase of 1,370 mm reveals an agile and compact approach, oriented to a young audience that seeks style, lightness and ease of driving without giving up a shocking design. The chassis of the Super4shared with other sports and roadsters of the brand, dresses here with a body of clear Italian inspiration. That is, clean lines, semi -closed envelope and that modern racer coffee air that MV became sign of identity with the Superveloce.
The relationship between QjMotor And transalpine design goes beyond industrial collaborations. Part of the aspect of the Super4 comes from the work of C-CREATIVEa study founded by Giovanni Castiglioniformer president of MV and son of Claudio Castiglioninext to Adrian Mortonformer design of the Varese house, and Paolo Bianchiformer head of the CRC (Ricerco Castiglioni Center). That is, the same ones that gave life to the most emblematic MVs of the last twenty years have also left their mark on some projects of QjMotor.
Although it has not yet been officially submitted, regulatory approval is already registered, and that suggests that the Super4 It could debut in November in the EICMA of Milan to become a production model 2026. The launch in Europe is not crazy. In fact, Benelli has already served as a platform for QjMotor entered the western markets, and the strategy could be repeated with this sports.
The big question is in the public’s perception. Will European and American bikers accept a light sport with Chinese DNA, although with strong Italian influence? The precedent of brands such as TRIUMPHthat produces its successful SPEED 400 and Scrambler 400 In India thanks to Bajajshow that the origin of manufacturing is less and less an obstacle if the product offers design, quality and an attractive price.
What is clear is that, if it finally reaches Europe, the Super4 will add a new ingredient to the competitive recipe for the middle sports. And he will do it with a key question about the table: Can Italian aesthetic inheritance legitimize in a Chinese production product? Very soon we will know.
