Pierre Terblanche’s name is synonymous with the Ducati 888, Ducati Multistrada, and Royal Enfield Himalayan. The famed designer's resume goes on, but he only revisited one project in 2021—the Ducati Supermono.
Produced between 1993 and 1997, the Supermono headlined the Sound of Singles race series. The track-only, 260-pound sportbike harnessed a 500cc single that generated 75 horsepower (at 10,000rpm). Ducati only manufactured 67 Supermono units during its five-year run, helping add to the super single’s lore.
In collaboration with the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum’s Barber Advanced Design Center (BADC), Terblanche reimagined the Supermono with today’s latest design and engineering tools. The South African utilized rapid prototyping techniques including CAD development, CNC milling, and 3D printing. BADC and Terblanche unveiled the final design on October 8, 2021, and the Supermono 699SC did not disappoint.
The prototype isn't operational, but Terblanche envisioned the 699SC to lop off one cylinder of Ducati’s 1198 Testastretta V-twin. In order to reach the project’s 699cc capacity, though, engineers would need to bore out the horizontally-mounted cylinder.
Of course, the Supermono 2.0 is just a design exercise, so any specifications would be theoretical. However, Terblanche’s project does beg one crucial question: will Ducati revisit the Supermono in 2023 as well? Well, it isn’t out of the question.
The Bologna brand filed a renewed vehicle identification number (VIN) decoder document with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on September 22, 2022. According to the filing, the new entry will tout a liquid-cooled, four-valve, 659cc single-cylinder engine. With next year marking the Supermono’s 30th anniversary, 2023 would certainly give Ducati occasion to revive the hallowed race bike.
On the other hand, the thumper’s 659cc volume doesn’t immediately point to a donor engine. Ducati could always take a page from Terblanche’s book and bore out the remaining cylinder or develop a brand-new powerplant. We're hopeful that Ducati will answer those questions in short time, especially with EICMA 2022 on the horizon.
