[7] Undecided whether to go down the road of evolutionary refinement, as Gilera had, or innovation, like the Moto Guzzi, Count Agusta opted for a dual strategy that included the development of the victorious "500 4C" and, simultaneously, the commissioning of a new multi-cylinder engine that could produce higher revs and therefore outperform the proven four-cylinder.

[8] The remarkable success of the two-stroke Yamaha twins[9] had greatly impressed Count Agusta who, at the end of the 1967 season, needed to find a counter to the predictable supremacy of Japanese motorcycles in the years to come.

[10] Taking advantage of the past experience of the "350 six cylinder", abandoned in the previous decade, the MV technicians quickly prepared a prototype, following the same six-cylinder DOHC, light alloy format, but with a new 4-valve head.

[12] The bike was tested in the early months of 1969 by Giacomo Agostini at Modena,[11] who rejected it due to the heavy weight, the difficulty in tuning and, above all, the increased width.

Despite the great power, the greater weight and frontal area entailed a noticeable decrease in manoeuvrability and cornering; qualities on which the Brescia-born champion based his driving style.

Not being able to fire him and, at the same time, not wanting to abandon the project, the decision was taken to recruit a second driver with good technical knowledge and a decidedly aggressive driving style.

It was continuously developed, but was not obtaining the desired results, precisely because of the defects already identified by Agostini who in that year, achieved double success in the 350 and 500 championships with the "tricilindriche".

[11] The development of the "350 6C" continued into the first months of 1971, to be finally abandoned after the opening race of the Temporada Romagnola, in which Bergamonti lost his life,[13] and new regulations that limited the maximum number of cylinders to four in the world championship.