The year was 1961 and the success of the mass produced car was radically reorganising the motorcycle market . Moto Guzzi , empowered with enviable design capacity reacted to the unfavourable circumstances by exploring new markets , from delivery three-wheelers to agricultural machinery and special vehicles - even cars . For the latter , the genius designer Giulio Cesare Carcano designed a 90 ° V-twin air cooled engine destined for a sport version of the Fiat 500 , capable of touching 140 km / h . They liked the new engine in Lingotto , but the annual quantity that Fiat ’ s boss Vittorio Valletta requested exceeded the production capacity of the Mandello del Lario plant , so the agreement never came to fruition . Mr . Carcano , however , did not lose heart and he increased the size of the two cylinder engine to 754 cc to use it on the “ 3X3 ”, a popular , variable track three wheel drive vehicle destined for use by Alpine troops . At the same time a ministerial tender was launched to provide motorcycles for the Highway Police the winner would be whoever could travel 100,000 km with the lowest maintenance cost . It was the perfect chance to place Mr . Carcano ’ s two-cylinder , entirely revamped , on a bike , the Moto Guzzi V7 . It was an innovative project that combined the reliability of automotive standards with a level of comfort and mechanical affordability unknown to the competition that aroused the curiosity even of foreign police forces , Los Angeles being

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