Sporting Ducatis star in Milan

Ducati again underlined its status at the very top of motorcycling’s elite with the unveiling of its remaining six new models for 2027 at an exclusive premiere in central Milan on the eve of the EICMA Show. 

And across a whole range of newcomers ranging from superlative-laden superbikes to uprated power cruisers, a new world supersports contender, adventure bike and 250cc enduro there was no shortage of highlights. 

The iconic Panigale V4, which dominated this year’s world and British superbike championships, has evolved again for 2027 with more power, improved ‘aero’ and further improvements with the Milan premiere debuting a mouth-watering new SP version. 

Milan also saw a new Streetfighter V4 SP, a limited-edition machine designed to be ‘the very best Ducati can offer in the high-performance naked segment’. 

While the special event additionally saw the world debut of a new SP version of the Panigale V2, a new, sportier Diavel V4 cruiser (also now with an ‘S’ variant for the first time), a new, more off-road, DesertX Rally, AND Ducati’s new ‘little brother’ to its Desmo 450 off roader, the Desmo 250EDS. 

But it’s the new Ducati Panigale V4 SP that will surely grab the biggest headlines. 

As with previous Ducati SPs (SP stands for ‘Sport Production’) it’s a special, limited edition, individually numbered machine that has been conceived to be “the ultimate track bike for non-professional riders”. 

As such, it’s effectively a Panigale V4 S with the best of everything – lightweight carbon-fibre wheels, final drive and dry clutch derived from Ducati’s WSB machinery, racing footpegs, a range of carbon-fibre components plus even a dedicated track-use ‘kit’ which includes billet aluminium mirror cover plates, licence-plate holder removal cover and open carbon-fibre clutch cover. 

But the SP’s most distinctive feature is surely its WSB homologated aerodynamic package consisting of enlarged ‘wings’ and sidepods as developed in MotoGP and claimed to generate a 25 per cent increase in vertical load at high speed. 

The Panigale V4 SP also comes with a dedicated ‘Winter Test’ livery inspired by Ducati Corse’s pre-season test machines and an individually numbered plaque on the top yoke. 

The new Streetfighter V4 SP is another a limited-edition newcomer which is this time intended to be “the very best Ducati can offer in the high-performance naked segment”. 

Like the Panigale V4 SP it comes in special ‘Winter Test’ livery with carbon-fibre wheels and also features an exposed, brushed-aluminium tank, dedicated two-tone seat, ‘Ducati Red’ calipers and is individually numbered on the handlebar. 

The new Panigale V2 SP, meanwhile, has been designed to let Ducati enter the Supersport World Championship. Based on the existing Panigale V2 S, it features top quality Öhlins suspension, a new, longer swingarm, forged wheels and a dry clutch. 

Even Ducati’s ‘muscle roadster’, the Diavel, is sportier for 2027. The performance cruiser gets a dramatic redesign, updated technology plus an additional, uprated S version for the first time. The revised styling includes new air intakes, a redesigned single-seat tail section, new wheels and numerous detail changes, all intended to give an even more dynamic appearance. 

The new Rally version of Ducati’s DesertX has been created to improve the off-road performance of the new-generation adventure machine. It features high-quality KYB suspension with increased travel, new Takasago Excel tubeless wheels, Termignoni exhaust, reinforced skid plate, high front mudguard and one-piece seat. 

Those six Milan unveilings join Ducati’s other newcomers including a new Dark version of the Monster, two new Hypermotards (the new 698 Mono RVE and Hypermotard V2 RVE), two new Multistrada V4s, the Grand Tour and Pikes Peak, plus new variants of the Desmo 450, to complete Ducati’s powerhouse line-up for 2027.