Ducati's Sold-Out Centenario Superleggera V4 Is the Ultimate Collector Superbike

By the time Ducati wheeled the Superleggera V4 Centenario into the Circuit of the Americas paddock on March 27, 2026, ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin, every one of its 600 units had already been sold. The company had been pre-selling the bike for six months while it was still a 3D model. Ducati US CEO Jason Chinnock confirmed the timeline: "We basically had been pre-selling it for the last six months, and candidly, at this point, we now have an order portfolio that exceeds our production capacity. So, is there a market? There's definitely a market."

The Centenario marks Ducati's 100th anniversary, with the Bologna-based company celebrating a full century since its 1926 founding. The 500-unit standard model is priced at $165,000; the 100-unit Tricolore variant commands $250,000. Both sold out before most of the world had seen either bike move under its own power.

Three engineering firsts anchor the price. The Centenario is the first road-legal motorcycle in the world to feature a braking system with carbon-ceramic discs and a fork with carbon-fiber stanchions. Its frame, swingarm, subframes, and wheels are all carbon fiber. The Desmosedici Stradale R engine displaces 1,103cc and produces 228 horsepower on the road, rising to 247 horsepower with the included Akrapovič racing exhaust. Wet weight without fuel sits at 381 pounds, dropping to 368 with the full race kit installed.

The Tricolore variant draws its livery from one of the most specific chapters in Ducati racing history. Its red, white, and green paint scheme recreates the 750 F1 Endurance Racing machine, the final "classic" two-valve race bike designed by legendary Ducati engineer Fabio Taglioni, complete with a gold-colored stripe on the tank recalling the transparent fuel-level windows on historic race bikes. The number 618 on its fairing is the racing number Marco Lucchinelli, the 1981 500cc World Champion, used when he won the 1986 Battle of the Twins race at Daytona, a detail that makes the Tricolore something considerably more than a colorway.

Every Centenario arrives in a customized wooden crate containing the full Akrapovič racing kit, paddock stands, a dedicated cover, a certificate of authenticity, and a special-edition helmet and jacket. A fortunate 26 of the 600 buyers will also receive access to Ducati's MotoGP Experience, offering track time on both the Centenario and the Desmosedici GP26. Deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2027.

As a collectible object, the Centenario's production run of 600 is narrower than most limited-edition watch references and smaller than many contemporary print editions. The distinction is that this one weighs 381 pounds, makes 247 horsepower at the rear wheel, and sold its entire allocation on the strength of a rendering. For Ducati, the centenary gift is largely to itself: proof that a motorcycle marque can command fine-art scarcity at roughly twice the price of a new Porsche 911 Turbo S.