The entire Italian nation recently celebrated its sesquicentennial – 150 years of unification as one country - and it was one heck of a party! To mark this important and patriotic occasion, Café Racing and Sport (CR&S) has announced the production of the “150°” Tricolore version of their VUN motorcycle.
CR&S VUN Motorcycle
One of the early and exclusive creations from the minds at CR&S, the VUN is hand made in very small numbers in the Italian city of Milan; it is apropos that a company which builds exclusive ‘designer’ motorcycles is based at the center of world fashion. However, CR&S goes far deeper than just dressing up their motorcycles in beautiful styles and colors – they build bikes that beg to be ridden hard.
The VUN is not so much when compared with the modern fascination with constantly increasing displacement as it is merely a 652 cc single. The standard road-going version, though, puts out 54 horsepower and 43.4 lb/ft with a feathery dry weight of 298 pounds (135 Kg), giving this bike a very racy power-to-weight rating. There is also a low-power version of the CR&S VUN, should that be too much power or expense for you.
CR&S VUN 150° Tricolore
The celebration of Italy’s founding is further honored with CR&S basing the paint scheme for the VUN 150° Tricolore on the green, white and red diamonds making up the flag of the First Italian Republic founded in 1802. That was the beginning of the Italy we know and love today, but it was initially ruled by French dictator Napoleon. That rule was eventually cast off and followed by a period known as Italian Unification which eventually led to Italy being united under one government on 17 March 1861, Unification Day.
If you take a close look - though you don’t have to in order to see what’s on display - you will see that the CR&S logo covers most of the bellypan and is emblazoned on the tank sides, tail end and the front fender. The First Italian Republic flag is not only represented in the paint, but is also located at the front, flanks and top of the tail piece; even the wheels are color matched to the red front end and the green rear. CR&S provides provenance through a large font “1802 – 1805” on either side and a huge “150° Italia CentoCinquarta” right underneath the rider’s chest.
CR&S VUN 150° Tricolore Viewing
The first time the public will get a chance to see the CR&S VUN 150° Tricolore in person will be on 20 November 2011 as part of an exhibit entitled “The Future is in the Hands: Tomorrow’s Artisans”, which is itself part of the “Esperienza Italia” event, to be held in Turin. CR&S was chosen for the show because the company represents “the excellence of Italian craftsmanship.”
Milanese marque CR&S has amazed and impressed many with their innovative – and certainly creative – exotic motorcycle designs based around other maker’s engines. (The VUN is powered by a BMW and their DUU is based on an S&S X-Wedge crate motor.) The VUN 150° Tricolore may only be a cosmetic upgrade over the standard model, but what an upgrade it is!
