Modena40 Turns 10: Why CFMOTO’s Future Is Taking Shape in Italy

• Modena40 was founded in 2016 by Carles Solsona and is based in Rimini
• The CFMOTO 450MT was the fifth best-selling motorcycle in Italy from January to August 2026
• The team received the 2026 Red Dot Award for the design of the 750SR-S

When CFMOTO comes up, most people think of Hangzhou, of the company headquarters in China and of a brand that has gone from outsider to a fixture in European registration statistics within just a few years. A large part of the work on these motorcycles, however, takes place almost 9,000 kilometres away, on the Italian Adriatic coast. That is where Modena40 operates, the brand’s European research and development centre. In early September the centre celebrated its tenth anniversary, and not as a press event but among its own people.

What is Modena40 and what does the team do for CFMOTO?

Modena40 is CFMOTO’s European research and development division, based in Rimini. The team handles the design and technical development of the two-wheelers and works closely with the headquarters in Hangzhou.

It all started ten years ago with a comparatively small collaboration. Today the models shown at the most recent EICMA editions carry a distinctly Mediterranean signature. The location was a deliberate choice: Rimini lies at the heart of the so-called Motor Valley, the region in Emilia-Romagna where manufacturers, suppliers and racing are concentrated in a small area. Italy, Solsona explained some years ago in a conversation about the choice of location, is a synonym for design, innovation and technology, as well as an important market with first-class suppliers and a deeply rooted motorcycling culture.

Who is Carles Solsona?

Carles Solsona is the founder, CEO and design director of Modena40. The Catalan came to Italy to study design and stayed.

Before he set up the development centre in 2016, he gained experience at several European manufacturers. At the design studio CRC he worked on models such as the three-cylinder MV Agusta Brutale and the Dragster, and he also worked for Ducati, Benelli and Aprilia. He describes himself as a former motocross rider and an innovation fanatic. As design director he is responsible for CFMOTO’s two-wheeler projects not only in Rimini, but also oversees the work at the design centre in Hangzhou.

From the 250SR to the EICMA concepts

The 250SR ranks among the company’s first demanding projects. The small sports bike had to meet numerous requirements, which according to the company made development particularly tricky. After that a rhythm established itself that still works today: as a rule, CFMOTO shows a concept at EICMA in Milan every year, a study with no obligation to reach production. A year later there is usually a model that comes very close to that study.

Solsona once described these show bikes as a tool for pushing development forward technically and stylistically and for anticipating where the brand is heading. The main difficulty, he said, was that there was no established brand history on which a design could draw.

Why did Modena40 win the Red Dot Award 2026?

The award went to the 750SR-S in the Product Design category, more precisely in the Motorcycle Design section. The prize was presented to the Modena40 team at the ceremony in Essen.

The Red Dot Award has been presented by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen since 1955. An independent jury of international experts assesses criteria such as innovation, functionality, ergonomics, quality and formal language. With the 750SR-S, according to the manufacturer, the jury highlighted the interplay of performance and sporty looks. For CFMOTO it was the second award of this kind. The first went to the 800NK, with which the brand appeared on the competition’s list of winners for the very first time.

What role does the V4 SR-RR play for Modena40?

The V4 SR-RR is considered the most elaborate project of the first ten years. The hypersport machine has been in development for at least two years, and Modena40 is responsible for the design.

At the anniversary celebration the engine could be heard live for the first time. Solsona spoke there about the complexity of such a project and about the question of when the machine will actually be shown. How heavily the European side of the group is involved in this model is also apparent in the detailed aerodynamic work. A video released by the manufacturer shows a prototype in the Pininfarina wind tunnel near Turin, tested both in a straight line and at a simulated lean angle, with a dummy in the saddle. This wind tunnel has written motorcycle history: it was there that BMW developed the prototype of the R100RS in 1975, which in 1977 became the first production motorcycle with a scientifically designed full fairing.

Racing: Aspar, Misano and an anniversary within the anniversary

Racing is also part of the story of this decade. In Moto2, CFMOTO competes together with the Aspar team, a collaboration that runs until the end of 2031. With the squad in Spain and Modena40 in Italy, the group now has two firm footholds in European racing.

A second anniversary provided a special moment at the celebration. It was in Misano, exactly forty years ago, that Jorge Martinez, known to everyone simply as Aspar, won his title in the 80cc class on a Derbi. That machine was brought onto the stage in the presence of the visibly moved Spanish team manager. A small motorcycle from an era in which two-strokes of this class had to be ridden with extreme sensitivity.

What does the anniversary mean for CFMOTO in Europe?

Above all, the anniversary marks a transition: from the budget alternative to a manufacturer that develops in Europe and wins awards there too. The sales figures support that development.

Only a few figures were shown at the celebration, among them CFMOTO’s steady growth in unit numbers and revenue, to which Modena40 contributes. The most visible example is the 450MT. The adventure bike was the fifth best-selling motorcycle in Italy from January to August 2026. The brand is therefore no longer on the margins of the statistics but right in the middle of them. In the wider picture of the Chinese manufacturers currently pushing into Europe, Modena40 is a case of its own: rather than serving European customers from a distance, the development itself sits in Europe.

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