When Italian cyclist Moreno Argentin won the 1986 Road World Championship in Colorado Springs, he was riding a steel bike with toe clips and no helmet.
It’s a sight that feels a million miles away from today’s racing, but one thing Argentin had that feels a lot more contemporary was his Rudy Project Super Performance glasses.
Rudy Project was founded in 1985 and the Super Performance cycling glasses were its first wraparound model.
Fast-forward 40 years, and the Italian company says Argentin’s victory was its “true launch”, which it is now honouring with a hyper limited-edition model, the Performance 40.
Limited to only 100 pieces, the Performance 40 cycling glasses share a similar shape to the original Super Performance model.
But the new glasses have a modern twist. Rudy Project has 3D printed the Performance 40’s frame from titanium, labelling it a “technological jewel” and saying the frame’s hollow internal structure “delivers exceptional lightness”.
Sitting in the titanium frame is a toric lens that replicates the curvature of the Super Performance. The lens is also etched with the Rudy Project logo, founder Rudy Barbazza’s signature and the individual number of each piece.
With a claimed weight of 36g and an adjustable nose piece, the Performance 40 might have the appeal of the best cycling glasses, but at €950 this is certainly a collector’s piece.
“The past inspires, the future innovates: these sunglasses celebrate an iconic model that defined an era, carrying forward its soul and design while using cutting-edge materials and technologies,” says Simone Barbazza, marketing and sustainability director at Rudy Project.
“It’s a tribute to our past and to the people – my father above all – who paved the way for us. Performance 40 is our way of looking ahead while honouring the journey behind us. It represents the long story of a brand with its eyes set firmly on the future.”
