The Aprilia Tuareg 660 has appeared in public for the first time since its mysterious ‘launch’ of sorts during the 2019 EICMA show as the latest model to be spun off from the firm’s new mid-range 660 line.
We didn’t quite have Aprilia down pranksters but it pulled a PR blinder in Milan last year by allowing punters - including us - to drool over the shiny new Aprilia RS 660 sportsbike, while another entirely new model was hiding right in plain sight, so much so it was only really spotted a couple of days into the event.
Hiding in a perspex box shrouded in leaves was the Tuareg, which was only really clocked when you consider it was a bit odd to be decorating a show stand with greenery squeezed into a box.
![Aprilia Tuareg 660 spy shots [credit Aprilia World Facebook Group]](https://cdn.visordown.com/styles/large/s3/118766664-3887141787998379-8588253624194287119-n%20%281%29.jpg?itok=48isBXxc "Aprilia Tuareg 660 spy shots [credit Aprilia World Facebook Group]")
A closer look revealed in the most tantalising of ways a motorcycle was lurking beneath and it was quickly pieced together we were looking at a return to the ADV arena for Aprilia.
Now, almost a year on, the Tuareg 660 has been spotted out in the wild for the first time by an eagle-eyed photographer in images uploaded to the Aprilia RS 660 World Facebook group.
The snaps don’t reveal much beyond the profile but we can just make out the fresh new family face that will adorn the RS 660 will make it onto a bluff upright front-end, while the profile bears similarities to the Yamaha Tenere 700 it will be directly aiming for.
The Aprilia Tuareg 660 is something of a retro throwback for the Italian firm, with the name recalling its Dakar challenging machines of the 80s and 90s and it gives Aprilia a bold challenger in the growing middle ADV class where the Tenere 700 in particular has garnered impressive success.
The appearance gives us anticipation the Tuareg 660 is close to a formal unveiling, probably alongside the Tuono 660, which was revealed in convincingly production-looking form last year at EICMA too.
Visordown will be at the world premiere launch of the Aprilia RS 660 in the next couple of weeks to bring you our first verdict of the much anticipated sportsbike.
