Granted, said spiel was delivered in a manner that suggested these minor alterations were in fact earth-shattering developments capable of slashing seconds, perhaps even minutes from rider's lap times, and possibly securing world peace into the bargain, but behind the dry ice and bright lights we all knew the bike in front of us was a gentle evolution of the species and no more.
For the 2003 Mille-R there will be no new geometry or frame alterations, no clever motor gizmos, no vast new gobs of power or torque (the engine is in fact the same as the current model), and to sit on it you'd think you were on this year's bike.
But then this isn't a bad thing because the 2002 Mille-R was, and still is for that matter, one of the best sportsbikes on the market, combining sublime track handling and class-leading brakes with bags of big twin punch, smooth fuel injection and plenty of Italian exclusivity. So why change it?
Because Aprilia had to. The top line sportsbike market is a fashion-led and fickle one where bikes need regular updating so they're still perceived as cutting edge. On this basis Aprilia's tack with the Mille-R is laudable.
They've added next year's essential fashion touches in the black frame and swinging arm - black is the new black for 2003 - along with the radially-mounted calipers which all the best bikes are sporting for next season if the forthcoming ZX-6R, CBR600 (check) and GSX-R1000 are anything to go by. True, these are also a technical improvement over conventional calipers as they offer a more stable platform for the anchors to operate from, but they're also an instantly-recognisable piece of one-upmanship for any owner to clearly demonstrate their ownership of the new model.
Other technical tweaks are lighter wheels (a kilo less than last year's) which can only be a good thing, and new ratios in the gearbox. First, second and third gear are taller to calm the motor's punch slightly - not such a bad thing as full throttle out of slower corners in first or second would have the current R on the back wheel sharpish which is all very cool but makes getting the power down a harder job than it could be - and shorter ratios in the top two gears to help real high speed stuff.
Oh, the fork internals have been tweaked too, while the compression adjuster up front is relocated to the front of the fork which is a damned sight easier to get to than the old one in the base of the leg which required the manual dexterity of a Thai ladyboy to get an allen key into.
But would these subtle tweaks translate into any tangible differences from the riding seat?
As far as the first couple of sessions of the day were concerned then the answer to this has to be 'no' because these stints were taken up with learning the track, sussing braking markers and gears, and generally getting into the swing of things.
All I could say was that the bike felt more softly-sprung than the 2002 R I'd raced at Oulton Park the weekend before but then as we'd spent a full day beforehand setting that one up while the launch bike was pretty much on standard settings this wasn't exactly a surprise and I wasn't going fast enough for it to be an issue.
What I could say at this point was Aprilia's choice of circuit for the launch showed an ambitious confidence in their bike because Vallelunga is a twisty, tricky, technical bugger of a track. There's a good mix of fast and slow turns but a major lack of straights so no chance for a breather anywhere and the cambers vary massively with at least half of the corners off-camber at some point. In a nutshell, if a bike didn't have a well-sorted front end and didn't change direction impeccably, it would soon be shown up, and most likely in a gravel trap.
Click to continue the Aprilia RSV-R Mille review
