When MV debuted the new 1000 in 2003, it was obvious that this was no mere big bore of the 750, but a truly remarkable bike in its own right with completely different power characteristics to the fast but revvy original three quarter litre original.

Sharing the same engine architecture as the ZX-10 the new F41000 produced power in an equally abrupt manner and back to back had the edge in a straight line not just over the Kawasaki but the R1 as well.

In a bid to maintain that hard won lead Andreas Goggi and his team at MV have constantly refined the standard F41000 ever since, resulting firstly in the new 1000R of 2006 and this year, the fabled 312, a reference to the top speed achieved in testing by the new model, making it officially the world’s fastest production bike now that the Japanese big bore super cruisers have all adhered to a Japanese industry-wide agreement to limit top speed to 300kph.

Most importantly, the sheer power and speed of the bike is not merely academic, because at the annual road test event of the world’s fastest bikes by the world’s top testers, the so-called Master Bike event, the 312 achieved the highest accolade – that is not just of class winner but of outright winner, against the best that Japan could offer, including all four top superbikes from each of the Japanese manufacturers. Of the top six testers, over half achieved their fastest time on the MV. As Masterbike authors concluded: “The MV took the silverware with a fine display of raw speed round a racetrack.” So consigning machines such as the 1098 to Ducati to 3rd place.

Identical to the 1000R chassis-wise, the 312’s detailed engine upgrades conspire to achieve 183bhp which, combined with the very latest Webber Marelli 5sm engine management system, assures the 312 of a constant, linear, outpouring of drive. It is the ultimate race replica and as such will of course form the basis for the bike that will be entered in the 2008 World Superbike Championship