Ducati Desmo 450 Rally
Eva.
Tiziano's new bike for the 2027 Dakar: when a dream meets the passion of an insatiable team, the impossible becomes reality.
The first Ducati in history at the Dakar
From a production Desmo450 EDS to a true rally bike.
The starting point is the Desmo450 EDS, the 450 cc desmodromic single with a six-speed gearbox born in Borgo Panigale in 2026. In just three months Rebel X developed the entire kit that turns the production EDS into a rally bike and with the style and shapes crafted by HYLE Project: sharp lines and never-before-seen headlights, applied to the Desmo450 EDS in a very few months.
The result is a bike designed for extreme range, within a line that does not betray its origin: slim, taut, modern, recognisable as a Ducati at first glance even under the sand. Her name is Eva.
Spec sheet
Designed for extreme range.
The figures published in the project presentation.
- Base
- Ducati Desmo450 EDS
- Engine
- Desmodromic single-cylinder, 450 cc, six-speed gearbox
- Fuel
- 34 litres
- Navigation
- Carbon tower
- Exhaust
- Akrapovic
- Cooling
- Oversized radiators and dedicated oil cooler
- Race number
- 93
The details
Every part has a reason.
Slim, taut, modern: recognisable as a Ducati at first glance even under the sand.
Eva
5 November 2026
Unveiled at the Dakar stand at EICMA.
Three months after the arrival of the production enduro, Eva was unveiled in Milan, at the Dakar stand at EICMA 2026, with the number 93 and the red Malle Moto crate: the first Ducati in history to race the Dakar, in the Original class, without assistance.
How Eva was born
A Ducati at the Dakar? Here is how it really happened.
The first rumours
The first rumours of Ducati's debut in motocross arrive. Enthusiasts and media go wild: a Desmo on knobbly tyres is something revolutionary and, together with the Borgo Panigale shield, it sets people dreaming before a single photo of the project has been seen.
A closed-door test
Thanks to Martino Bianchi, Tiziano has the mousses of his MrWolf tested by Alessandro Lupino in a closed-door test: the test goes well and MrWolf becomes a technical partner for the next two seasons. At lunch, a single question for Davide Perni, the "father" of the Desmo 450: will a Rally version for the Dakar come too? The answer is blunt: no, it is not planned in any way.
The first 3D scans
That answer leaves no room for doubt, but the idea of taking a Desmo into the desert does not fade. With the arrival of the production MX, the first 3D scans and the first designs begin.
The same forbidden dream
The real turning point: meeting Manuel Lucchese of Rebel X, Tiziano realises they share the same "forbidden dream". They join forces and build a plan to make it real. The team is completed by the people at HYLE Project, whose first design sketches keep Tiziano awake at night: sharp lines and never-before-seen headlights.
The enduro arrives
In the first days of August the Desmo450 EDS arrives, the production enduro: the final push to make the impossible possible. In just three months Rebel X develops the entire kit that turns the production EDS into a true rally bike.
Meet Eva
At the Dakar stand at EICMA 2026, in Milan, the bike is unveiled with the number 93: the first Ducati in history to race the Dakar.
A clarification
There is no factory team: it is an Italian dream.
Some journalists and media have described this project as the debut of the Ducati factory team at the Dakar, but that is not the case. This project is a true Italian dream, made by the minds of enthusiasts who joined forces to make the impossible possible and, above all, to turn the forbidden dream of many into reality. An independent project that wants to leave its mark on the world of rally raid.
Dakar 2027
Take Eva to the Dakar too.
The project is supported by those who follow it and by the partners who believe in it.
