It may have only been released a couple of months ago, but the Ducati Diavel for Bentley has sold out.
Set to be built in 500 units, the special edition bike was derived from the Ducati Diavel V4, and priced at £58,000.
A special edition of this special edition, the Ducati Diavel for Bentley Mulliner, was scheduled to be built in 50 units costing £71,000. These Mulliner versions were only made available to Bentley customers, but have all also been assigned to their respective owners.
The choice of the Diavel V4 as the base bike for this Ducati special edition probably came from the notion that Bentley isn’t the kind of brand you would associate with something called ‘Streetfighter’, which was the model used by Ducati in some of its other special editions, including its collaboration with Lamborghini.
Its name is derived from the Italian for ‘devil’, which doesn’t seem to fit with the stereotypical idea of Bentley, but - let’s be real - the marketing department in Borgo Panigale wasn’t exactly spoiled for choice when trying to find a bike in Ducati’s range that would fit with the image of its British partners.
So, we have Diavel for Bentley, and it’s about what you might expect. Ducati has taken the Diavel V4 base - producing 168bhp from the 1,158cc Granturismo V4, which is also a stressed member of the aluminium monocoque chassis - and painted it in British Racing Green (it's actually called 'Scarab Green', but you know what they're going for). Job done.
Well, not quite. Aesthetically, the bike’s lines have been somewhat redrawn, reducing aggression and aiming to show similarity with the £1.7 million Bentley Batur, which is the most powerful production car the marque has made. Additionally, the tailpipe on this Diavel has been revised, and now splits the four outlets more overtly into two banks of two, and the intakes on either side of the headlight each have grilles inside that match that of the Batur.
The work was undertaken not only by Ducati Centro Stile but also by some of the designers from Bentley and also includes a refreshed rear wheel.
Perhaps against some of the aforementioned Bentley stereotypes, the British marque will let you add all sorts of carbon fibre bits to its models, something which it and Ducati can certainly agree on, and which is perhaps why this Diavel has so much of the stuff. Mudguards; covers for the headlight, exhaust, and radiator; radiator shrouds; side panels; and the tailpiece are all in carbon.
In front of that carbon tailpiece is the seat, which is in black Alcantara - also inspired by the Batur - with red stitching and detailing.
Exclusive for owners of the Diavel for Bentley is the new Capsule Collection, which offers a gear set comprising a jacket and jet-style helmet that is colour-matched to the bike.
Only 500 Ducati Diavel for Bentley will be built, and they will each cost a very refined £58,000. It’d surely be the most expensive production bike from a mainstream brand this year, were it not for the next bike we’re going to talk about…
Ducati Diavel for Bentley Mulliner
The Ducati Diavel for Bentley Mulliner is even more exclusive and expensive. Only 50 of these will be built, and you can’t buy one if you don’t own a Bentley. Ducati specifies that the Mulliner version is strictly for customers of the company's Mulliner bespoke division, which means you can’t blag it with an old Brooklands you found on Autotrader, but equally we assume you won’t be able to turn up with a 1:43 scale Flying Spur and ask to be directed to your new Diavel.
In any case, for the 50 people who will be able to lay claim to a Diavel for Bentley Mulliner, there will be the possibility to change the colour of several parts of the bike, including the seat, carbon fibre parts, front brake callipers, and wheel rims, and the bodywork will be able to be chosen in the same colour as the owner’s car.
The Mulliner comes in at a whopping £71,000, making it not far off three times the price of a standard Diavel V4.
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