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THE INDO-ITALIAN JOB

BBC TopGear India

|

May 2024

Living with the Aprilia RS 457

- ANANT PANDEY

THE INDO-ITALIAN JOB

Although I missed out on the racetrack rendezvous with the Aprilia RS 457 and Lorenzo Savadori, I was keen to put the RS through its paces in the real world. The ‘self-assigned’ task at hand was to live with the RS in different scenarios to gauge whether it is just an angry track scorcher or is it capable of delivering on multiple fronts.

I knew it was not a swiss knife. What I didn’t know is that it is an Italian stiletto but with a slight twist. Stabbing people with its pointy end? It was particularly developed for that but that doesn’t mean you cannot chop veggies with it, right?

Even before you’re enchanted with other elements of the RS, its irresistible Italian silhouette would charm you into writing a love sonnet about it. Become a little Shakespearean in the process. A shrunken down RSV4, that’s exactly how the RS 457 looks. It doesn’t lose its purpose in the wake of being pretty. It is not a social media influencer, it is an Italian supermodel with wits to go by too. For instance, take the bulky front half of the motorcycle, imparting the RS with big bike looks and feels but as you pan your eyes towards the rear, it just ends too soon.

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