lejandro de Tomaso created in October 1959 DeTomaso Automobili that became best known for the Pantera, a mid-engine, Ford V8 powered "supercar" produced on-and-off between 1971 and 1991.
In 1971, he (DeTomaso) had quietly picked up an Italian motorcycle firm, Benelli, that was in trouble.
In 1972... Benelli picked up Moto Guzzi, which (also) had a grand old name and tradition in motorcycling plus a beautiful factory on the shores of Lake Como in the Italian Alps.
DeTomaso's handling of Benelli and Moto Guzzi was typical.
Plunging into the management of both feet first, he managed to revamp Benelli's image by introducing a transverse six-cylinder 750cc machine, the 'Sei'.
The first production, street, 6-cylinder motorcycle was produced in small numbers, the big Benelli never a threat to Honda's world domination of large sport bikes.
The 900 Sei came in 1979 but less than 2,000 were made in 10 years.
By the end of production in 1989, fewer than 2,000 examples of the 900 Sei had been built.
Motorcycle Classics, May/June 2015.