The “Penta V4” : Officine GP Design Strips Down The Ducati V4
Los Angeles, California, United States
The Turin-based business takes Ducati’s latest flagship superbike and gives it the streetfighter treatment so many have been asking for, albeit with a retro touch.
Officine GP Design is a small Italian shop that does big things with exotic motorcycles. The Turin-based outfit churns out exquisite, ultra-exclusive, high-dollar customs. In addition to its work being featured on elite customs sites like BikeExif, the boutique firm has also received commissions for builds from moto-related corporations such as Motul.
The V4 Penta by Officine GP Design
To date Officine GP Design — which is headed up by Luca Pozzato and Italo Santilli — has reportedly produced around 100 bespoke two-wheeled creations — many of which we thoroughly dig — though it’s the shop’s latest project that really demonstrates what these Northern Italians are capable of.
The tail is probably our favorite aspect of the elaborate build
Ducati produces some of the finest looking motorcycles in the world. So too many a Ducatista, altering these two-wheeled masterpieces in any substantial way is considered almost sacrilegious. Full-on customizing a full-faired Ducati is also made all the less appealing considering the bike’s bodywork hides an enormous array of electronics, wiring, and other unsightly ancillaries.
The V4 Penta is an interesting mix of modern style and yesteryear flavor
Despite this — and the monumental MSRP of a brand-spankin’-new Ducati superbike — Officine GP Design has opted to take on Ducati’s new MotoGP-derived V4 flagship and give it the bonafide naked treatment. Starting with a zero-mile V4 example, the guys in Turin stripped the 200hp+ runner down to a rolling chassis. Next a custom, handmade aluminum tank (cover) was banged out along with a sleek matching modern café’d tail-section — all of which were hit with a coat of bronze paint before receiving a special curing/finishing treatment.
We're really curious about how much this thing weighs. Hopefully less than the stock V4.
The structural components from the bike were also adorned in a coat of matching bronze — a move that wonderfully highlights the unique framework up front. Next the crack team over at GF Racing cooked up a special girder-style front-end for the Penta. Slotted in the new fork is a seriously beefy 24-spoke Jonich’s SX wire-rim, while the V4’s stock swing-arm holds a matching single-sided 24-wire wheel out back.
The girder fork sorta clashes with the sleek, modern nature of the V4
Several pieces were borrowed from existing Ducati offerings, such as the headlight off an XDiavel. The tank-cap, levers, rear-sets, and a few other minor bits came courtesy of fellow Italian outfit, Rizoma. There are also a few other tiny parts that have been added to the mix like carbon fiber heel-guards. The stock exhaust fortunately lent itself particularly well to the naked design, so that piece stayed.
The Penta uses a headlight from an XDiavel which looks right at home on the top-shelf build
While Ducati’s definitely isn’t the most custom-ready/friendly model, we think Luca, Santilli, and the rest of the team over at OGPD did a totally ace job on the Penta. Despite just having been completed, Officine GP has put the V4 Penta up for sale, assumably to procure funds for their next project (that we can’t wait to see!). Unsurprisingly the bespoke V4 Duck has got quite the price-tag at €100.00 or $113,850 US.
This is what $113K gets you
Now we’re just waiting for Ducati to drop its own production version of the V4 — something that’s rumored to be unveiled during EICMA or INTERMOT at the end of the year.
