The most progressive of Husqvarna‘s steady stream of single-cylinder, motorcycle concepts is the Vitpilen AERO. It’s been seen at various moto shows for the last six years and more – yet so far a production-ready model has not been forthcoming.
Vitpilen 701: From Concept to Production
Each of Husky’s previous concepts has successively moved from the pretty prototype stage to street pounding production model. And not only that, Husky’s designers and engineers have diligently stayed true to the original concepts, bar mandatory changes for compliance/homologation purposes.
The formula for Husqvarna appears to be quite simple:
Firstly, casually reimagine the motorcycle.
Secondly, unveil said reimagined motorcycle concept at EICMA.
Lastly, win awards and garner interest throughout the year at motorcycle shows. Finally, make a production version.
A few steps on the list may have been skipped. Nonetheless, Husqvarna seems to have gotten incredibly adept in this process. That’s after initially seeming to falter with the 401 versions of Svartpilen and Vitpilen. Those took more than two years to reach dealers.
Take for example when Husqvarna revealed the Norden 901 – it seemed that even before the covers had the opportunity to hit the floor, a production version was announced. Almost before anyone could furiously bash out the words (on a forum of their choice) ‘They’ll never build it...’ or at the very least do so, without looking a tiny bit silly.
VITPILEN 701 AERO: What’s Happened?
With that in mind. What’s happened to the 701 AERO? It’s built on the same platform as the Vitpilen 701 and uses the super single-cylinder engine. With a sleek angular design, front fairing and up-turned duckbill or platypus-bill, rear-end if you like.
It’s a bonafide café racer, yet reconceived.
Unwrapped in 2018, it’s arguably the best-looking of all Husqvarna’s recent street bike concepts. None of them is shy in the looks department. And yet, there hasn’t been any definitive move towards a production model. However, don’t take that to mean a street-going version is off the table.
Indeed, since its unveiling, the Vitpilen 701 AERO has been doing the rounds and picked up the top spot for the motorcycle category in the Best of Best Automotive Brand Contest. That’s the prestigious international award hosted by the German Design Council.
Designed in collaboration with the Austrian design agency KISKA, the Vitpilen 701 was given the iF Design Award in 2016. Around a year or so later it went into production. So, it appears that AERO is riding a similar road, hopefully towards an assembly line soon.
With adoration and now awards, it seems unlikely that the AERO will remain just a concept, without ever laying down rubber on the road. The likelihood is you’ll be able to see this bike in the metal at some point towards the end of 2022, if not sooner.
Well, until then here’s a gallery ofVitpilen 701 AERO images and a slightly abstract video showing its full-colour instruments cluster to satiate hankerings for this bike.
