The Terra Modena SX2 was introduced to selected guests last week during a presentation at the Milan Stock Exchange.
The radical 450cc Supermoto bike is the result of a cooperation between two Italian companies: Iniziative Tecnologiche Applicate (I-TEA) and HPE, the latter belonging to a member of the Ferrari dynasty, Piero Ferrari.
Also involved in the project is Swiss watch manufacturer IWC and the Milan University.
Said Georges Kern, the company CEO: "Terra Modena and IWC share a passion for precision and innovative engineering. Their common values are rooted in their will to achieve maximum performance, their strive for qualitative excellence, and their unmistakable design. This is what transforms a leading product into a work of art."
Indeed, the SX2 is a work of art. But it is also a tool for racing. Therefore the bike will enter the 2004 World Supermoto Championship in the hands of riders Alexandre Thiebault and Michele Lavetti.
The plan is to build 35 bikes this year and 150 next, with production gradually increasing to 1,000 models by 2007. The machines will be eligible for on-road use, featuring a Euro 3 type-approved exhaust system.
"The Terra Modena is a motorbike conceived for racing," states Dario Calzavara, who founded I-TEA in February 2003.
"It is for touching the emotions of not only motorcyclists, but of all lovers of beautiful and functional things. We address ourselves to those who appreciate high-performing single-cylinder motorbikes and to new market targets, such as women."
Continues Calzavara: "Terra Modena will launch a range of motorbikes possessing the latest technology and refined design that will be produced side by side with the Supermoto, Motocross and Enduro racing models.
"Our objective is to be winners in both racing and the market, and that is why we have two specific targets: to win the World Championship in 2005 and to list the company on the Italian Stock Market in the new Mercato Expandi within 2010."
The World Supermoto series kicks off on 20 June in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, where the bike will be part of the newly-founded S2 category.