Ducati’s centenary just reached the water. The PIRELLI 44 Ducati Edition, developed jointly with Pirelli and SACS Marine, made its world premiere on September 10 at Zuma Cannes during the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival, marking the first time Ducati’s design language has ever crossed into boats.
The PIRELLI 44 Ducati Edition Ties Directly to Ducati’s Centenary
Only 26 units will be built, a number chosen specifically to honor 1926, the year Ducati was founded. The livery draws directly from the Superleggera V4 Centenario, the most extreme road-legal motorcycle Ducati has ever built, developed for this same 100th anniversary.
That connection runs deeper than paint: the distinctive pattern carved into the boat’s tubes was hand-sculpted by artisans at Pirelli’s R&D Centre using the Diablo Supercorsa SP as reference, the exact hypersport tire fitted to the Superleggera itself, rather than the Cinturato Blue Wet tread that normally inspires the Pirelli Speedboats range.
“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,” said Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali.
Racing DNA Shapes the PIRELLI 44 Ducati Edition’s Engineering
Power comes from three 500 hp Mercury Racing engines, a configuration built exclusively for this project. Aerodynamic appendages on those engines draw directly from the tail sections of Ducati’s MotoGP race bikes, the same extreme aerodynamic thinking applied to a boat rather than a motorcycle.
Pirelli’s SVP of Design, Marco Maria Tronchetti Provera, framed the project as an extension of an existing relationship rather than a new one. “Pirelli has always collaborated with Ducati, supplying tyres for every model produced in Borgo Panigale,” he said, calling this edition a new expression of that partnership.
Details Built for the PIRELLI 44 Ducati Edition’s Exclusivity
A double-step hull from the Mannerfelt Design Team, a carbon-fiber hardtop, a black steel pack, and an Alcantara-upholstered dashboard and pilot seats round out the build, alongside a commemorative plaque and a customizable number plate, a detail that’s followed Ducati’s most exclusive motorcycles for years.
“The vision that guides us places the boat owner at the centre of our decisions,” said SACS Marine Chief Growth Officer Nicola Antonelli, describing a goal of maximizing “the sense of involvement and driving pleasure” before the engines even start. It joins a broader high-performance boat segment where Ducati is now, for the first time, a named player rather than a spectator.
Three separate Italian manufacturers, each already excellent in a category of their own, rarely combine into a single object without one brand’s identity getting diluted by the others. The PIRELLI 44 | Ducati Edition is a bet that Style, Sophistication, and Performance translate cleanly enough across categories that nothing gets lost crossing from asphalt to water.
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