Giancarlo Morbidelli, had created from scratch an industrial group of the most important in the world, in the field of woodworking machines. Always passionate about engines, he decided to become a racing motorcycle manufacturer and with the MORBIDELLI he won 7 world titles in two categories (125 and 250).

The last Morbidelli motorcycle prototype was in 1992, a futuristic motorcycle equipped with a 848cm³ V8 engine, and designed by Pininfarina.

Thanks to his knowledge in the industry, Morbidelli put together the best of Italian engineers and manufacturers in the motorcycle industry, to make the 8-cylinder. The V-shaped arrangement was extremely compact, displacement of 848cc, with 32 valves and double overhead camshaft distribution for a power of 120CV. The only 200kg guaranteed excellent performance and speeds up to 230 km/h.

In 1992 the project took shape, but the lines designed and created by Pininfarina, chosen for its reputation as an excellent designer, left everyone very perplexed. The project continued and it was decided to invest new capital by re-establishing the aesthetics, so in 1994 the second version was presented. Production was ready to go, but the company decided to stop the project, too expensive!

For the study, the design, the technical collaborations and the realization of three prototypes, about 4 billion liras were spent (more or less equivalent to the 2-3 million euro of today), and considering a selling price that had to be of about 80-100 million lire, they could never have produced so much to recover the money invested. With the death of the dream V8 also ends the history of Morbidelli road motorcycles.

In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records had included the Morbidelli 8V as the most expensive motorbike in the world. Because of the exotic design of the bike, he was exhibited in The Art of the Motorcycle at the Guggenheim Museums in New York, Bilbao and Las Vegas.

An example of this motorbike can be seen at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Another model of Morbidelli V8 is exhibited at the Morbidelli Museum in Pesaro, Italy.