Ducati has brought its design language onto the water for the first time, unveiling the PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition alongside Pirelli and SACS Marine. The boat is a special version of Pirelli’s new maxi-RIB, built to mark Ducati’s centenary.
The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition had its world premiere on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at Zuma Cannes, during a press conference held as part of the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival, Europe’s leading in-water boat show, running September 8 to 13. Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati, and Nicola Antonelli, Chief Growth Officer at SACS Marine, attended the unveiling.
A Partnership Two Decades in the Making
Pirelli and SACS Marine have worked together for more than twenty years on the Pirelli Speedboats range, a benchmark in the high performance maxi-RIB segment. The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is the first boat in that history to carry Ducati’s own design signature.
Why 26 Units
Production is limited to 26 boats, a number chosen to mark 1926, the year Ducati was founded in Bologna. The limited run sits within Ducati’s wider programme of centenary activity through 2026.
Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati:
With Pirelli and SACS Marine, we found a natural alignment in the way we interpret design, innovation and, above all, the pursuit of maximum performance: the PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is the most tangible expression of this. The livery inspired by the Superleggera V4 Centenario, the work with the Centro Stile to define the aesthetic language, and our racing DNA all merge into a boat with a strong personality, one that doesn’t just bear the Ducati name but truly embodies its character. The unique configuration featuring three 500 hp Mercury Racing engines allows the PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition to deliver extraordinary performance, perfectly aligned with our vision of sportiness. I have always loved everything that goes fast, in all its forms, and that is precisely why this project excites me in a very special way.
Marco Maria Tronchetti Provera, SVP of Pirelli Design & Assets Conversion:
The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition constitutes a new chapter in the journey we have embarked on with SACS Marine and brings to the water a wealth of experience, technology, and passion acquired on the road and the track. Pirelli has always collaborated with Ducati, supplying tyres for every model produced in Borgo Panigale: a partnership that finds a new expression in this special edition, offering a distinctive experience also at sea.
Nicola Antonelli, Chief Growth Officer at SACS Marine:
The vision that guides us places the boat owner at the centre of our decisions; this is precisely what inspired this project: we aimed to create a boat capable of maximising the sense of involvement and driving pleasure. The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is able to evoke a sense of excitement even before the engines are started. This project brings together the best of the Pirelli Speedboats spirit with Ducati’s distinctive DNA, creating something unique that is destined to make history.
Centenary Livery and Design Details
The livery was developed with Centro Stile Ducati and takes its inspiration from the Superleggera V4 Centenario, Ducati’s most extreme and technologically advanced road legal motorcycle, itself built to mark the manufacturer’s centenary. Aerodynamic appendages on the engines draw on the tail sections of Ducati’s MotoGP race bikes.
The tube pattern on the PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is normally drawn from the tread of the Pirelli Cinturato Blue Wet tyre. On this edition, artisans at Pirelli’s R&D Centre have instead hand carved it using the Diablo Supercorsa SP, the road legal hypersport tyre fitted to the Superleggera V4 Centenario, as their reference.
Further details include a sporty double-step hull designed by the Mannerfelt Design Team, a carbon fibre hardtop, a black steel pack, a dashboard and pilot seats upholstered in Alcantara, and a commemorative plaque. Each boat also carries a customisable number plate, a feature that has long accompanied Ducati’s most exclusive models.
Triple Mercury Racing Power
The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is equipped with three 500 hp Mercury Racing engines, a configuration reserved exclusively for this project. Ducati and SACS Marine say the combination is built to deliver speed and strong seakeeping alongside high standards of safety and onboard comfort.
The companies describe the PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition as the start of a longer collaboration, with further dedicated initiatives and events planned in the coming months to share the thinking behind the project.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
