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With Ducati cleaning up in World Superbikes at the tail end of the 90s, the Italian manufacturer did all it could to capitalise on its dealer forecourts. In 1998, for instance, there was the 916 SPS 'Fogarty Replica’, paying homage to - of course - Carl Fogarty, who chalked up four of Ducati’s eight rider’s championships during the era.
This version of the SPS or ‘Sport Production Special’ was built at the urging of the brand’s UK importer of the time, and was sold exclusively in Britain. Ducati built 202, with chassis 001 sent to the company’s museum in Bologna, and 002 reserved for Foggy himself. It’s among the rarest Ducati models ever, but rarer still is the bike you see here - the 996 SPS Factory Replica.
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Of these, Ducati only made 150, and this is chassis number 147, soon to go under the hammer at Bonhams The Zoute Sale on 8 October 2023. It’s set to be perhaps a little cheaper than you might expect given its scarcity, with the auction house giving the bike an estimate of €20,000 - €30,000 (around £17,000 - £26,000).
As on all SPS 996s, you’re getting a more powerful L-twin than that of the standard 996, producing 124bhp. There’s also an adjustable steering head, allowing the rider to tweak the bike’s geometry, and five-spoke wheels that were lighter than the bog standard 996’s iconic three-spoke items. In terms of suspension, there’s an Öhlins monoshock at the rear working with a Showa fork up front.
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The main difference between other SPS 996s and the Factory Replica is the way it looks - there’s a decal pack that echoes what was seen on the racing version of the time. It won’t be for everyone - some will prefer the ‘cleaner’ look of the regular SPS, but it does mark the bike out as something rare, as does the stamped production number on the triple clamp.
Number 147 has only 4,180 kilometres on the clock (around 2,600 miles), and comes with cancelled Japanese registration documents plus a Belgian import document.
Fancy it?
