THE ORIGINS OF THE MOTO GUZZI V-TWIN engine aren’t entirely clear. One legend is that it first appeared in 1960 as the powerplant for a tricycle half-track for the Italian Army. There are also suggestions that the V7 engine was based on a 500cc, 90-degree V-twin motor designed for Fiat. The designers of the first 700cc engine were Guilio Carcano and Umberto Todero, who said they designed the Guzzi engine from scratch. This doesn’t stop Guzzi owners referring to their twins as ‘tractors’, tongues firmly in cheeks.
The original Carcano-Todero V-twin was designed in the early 1960s as an air-cooled, longitudinal crankshaft, transverse cylinder, pushrod 700cc V-twin, producing 45bhp. It was built to win a competition sponsored by the Italian government for a new police and military bike and was important for Moto Guzzi, as a decent government contract would ensure financial stability. One proviso was that the engine had to be good for at least 100,000km without needing major repairs. The sturdy V-twin won the competition, but Moto Guzzi still went into financial receivership in 1967 and was nationalised. Regardless, that year saw the new engine used in the 700cc
