Piaggio India CEO & MD Diego Graffi announced at the India showcase of the bike that pre-bookings will open soon.
A couple of weeks ago, Aprilia unveiled the new RS 457, a middleweight sportbike designed to compete with the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and KTM RC 390. The Italian brand showcased the bike ahead of the Indian MotoGP round this weekend, as it will be built at Aprilia's plant in Baramati, Maharashtra.
Aprilia MotoGP racers Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro, who helped develop and test the machine, were at the event, as was Diego Graffi, CEO & MD at Piaggio India. However, Aprilia did not reveal many details or plans for the RS 457.
Aprilia has not yet announced a price for the RS 457, but CEO & MD Diego Graffi said that pre-bookings will open soon. He also said that Aprilia aims to make the bike available in Tier 1 and 2 cities across India within the next 12 months.
The RS 457 is likely to be priced between the KTM RC 390 (Rs 3.18 lakh) and the Kawasaki Ninja 400 (Rs 5.19 lakh), closer to the latter than the former.
This is because it is a twin-cylinder motorcycle with premium components, even though it will be locally manufactured with some locally sourced parts, such as TVS Eurogrip tires.