Ducati Superleggera V4 Centenario: 247 hp carbon wonder

If you were wondering how Ducati planned to celebrate turning 100, the answer is this: the Ducati Superleggera V4 Centenario. The design brief, it seems, was to build something completely outrageous, stick a number on it, and sell all 500 before most of us have even finished reading the spec sheet.

Meet the most extreme road bike the Bologna firm has ever put its name to, and yes, that’s saying something, given what’s come before it.

At its core, this is what happens when Ducati’s engineers are told to forget budgets and ignore common sense. It seems the Borgo Panigale brand’s engineers were given free rein to build the best thing they could. The Superleggera name has always meant that, but the Centenario version takes things even further, with a host of “road bike” world firsts and an otherworldly peak power figure of nearly 250 bhp.

For starters, it’s the first road-legal bike in the world to run carbon-ceramic brake discs. Not carbon-coated, not fancy steel, but proper MotoGP-style carbon-ceramic items. They’re lighter, resist heat better, and reduce inertia, which in simple terms means sharper turn-in and less effort muscling the thing around. 

Quite how they will work on a chilly morning while you pop to the shops to grab some milk remains to be seen.

Then there’s the chassis, with the frame, swingarm, subframe, and wheels, all being hewn from carbon fibre. The result is a claimed 173kg wet weight without fuel, dropping to 167kg if you fit the supplied track kit. For something knocking on the door of 250 horsepower, those are properly silly numbers.

And as mentioned, the power figure is just as daft as you’d expect, with the new 1,103cc Desmosedici Stradale R motor putting out 228bhp in road trim, rising to 247bhp with the race exhaust bolted on. Ducati claims the engine helps to give it a power-to-weight ratio of 1.48hp per kilo. In other words, it’s edging into full-blown race bike territory, just with a number plate.

To reach the heady power figure, the engine’s been fettled within an inch of its life, with lighter internals, tweaked geometry, hand-set desmo timing, and enough titanium to make your wallet cry. Even the gearbox has been reworked so you can’t accidentally hit neutral when you’re hard on the brakes into a first-gear corner.

Continuing the exotic theme is the suspension, with an Öhlins NPX fork, complete with carbon fibre sleeves (another world first on a road bike) at the front, while the rear runs a TTX36 GP shock. It’s all about shaving grams and improving feel on track, and the setup features all the race-ready adjustability you’d expect.

The Panigale’s already aggressive aero package hasn’t been ignored either, with wings and sidepods lifted straight out of Ducati’s race programme. They are designed to generate downforce even when the bike’s cranked over, and are all part of making something that doesn’t just go fast in a straight line, but actually works on track too.

As for looks, it gets a new “Rosso Centenario” livery – a darker red that nods to Ducati’s past while also linking to its current race bikes. There’s also a Tricolore version, limited to 100 bikes, if the standard one somehow isn’t exclusive enough.

Speaking of which, only 500 of these will be built, all numbered, all destined for collectors with deep pockets. And Ducati being Ducati, ownership comes with perks – including the chance for a handful of buyers to ride a MotoGP bike as part of a track experience - the cost of which is not included in the as-yet-not-disclosed price of the bike...

So, is it over the top? Completely. Is it necessary? Not even slightly. The Superleggera V4 Centenario isn’t meant to make sense. It’s meant to make a statement.

Ducati Superleggera V4 Centenario key features

• Desmosedici Stradale R 1100 engine, 1103 cc
• Titanium intake valves
• Hand-adjusted desmodromic valve train with nameplate and fitter's signature
• Lightweight crankshaft with tungsten inserts
• Lightweight two-ring pistons with 18 mm piston pin
• Titanium connecting rods
• Titanium engine bolts
• Maximum Power of 228 hp @ 14,500 rpm (247 hp @ 14,750 rpm with racing exhaust)
• Maximum Torque of 117.6 Nm @ 10,500 rpm (126.3 @ 12,500 with racing exhaust)
• Wet weight without fuel: 173 kg (167 kg with racing exhaust)
• Ducati Racing Gearbox with Ducati Neutral Lock
• STM Revo clutch
• Carbon fibre front frame
• Carbon fibre rear frame
• Carbon fibre double-sided swingarm
• Öhlins NPX25/30 Carbon pressurised fork with carbon fibre outer tubes and billet fork bottoms
• Öhlins TTX36 GP LW shock absorber with lightweight special steel spring
• Dedicated carbon fibre wheels
• Brembo braking system with Hyction 340 mm carbon-ceramic discs and GP4-HY billet monoblock calipers
• Latest-generation electronics package with 6D IMU: four-level cornering ABS; Ducati Traction Control (DTC) DVO; Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) DVO; Ducati Slide Control; Ducati Power Launch (DPL) DVO; Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) 2.0; Engine Brake Control (EBC) DVO with Dynamic Engine Brake (DEB) strategy.
• Akrapovic racing exhaust with DAVC software and dedicated calibration ***
• Dedicated lower fairing ***
• Open carbon fibre clutch cover ***
• Swingarm protectors
• Alternator cover protector
• Headlight, side stand, number plate holder and indicators removal kit ***
• Machined aluminium racing fuel cap ***
• Brake lever guard
• Battery charger
• Neoprene racing seat
• Dedicated wooden crate
• Dedicated paddock stands, mat and motorcycle cover

*** Components not approved for road use