2023 Ducati Diavel V4 Spotted

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Clearly a Diavel, but also clearly powered by Ducati’s V-4. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

Not long ago Ducati was synonymous with the V-twin engine and fans worried that the advent of the Panigale V4 would herald a watering-down of the bikes’ character. But Ducati has gone from strength to strength since adopting the four-cylinder format. A version of the engine is set to appear in an all-new Diavel for 2023. That means there will be V-4s in the Panigale, Streetfighter, Superleggera, Multistrada, and Diavel ranges, with the XDiavel is sure to follow suit, making it the dominant engine in Ducati’s lineup.

These spy shots show that the Diavel V4 is already in near-showroom-ready form, with the company managing to hide earlier prototypes from prying eyes. Strip away the black plastic wrap and duct tape intended to keep details of the machine hidden, and underneath lies a bike that’s completely finished down to the last detail. There’s even a coat of shiny red paint under the disguise, and the bike’s name is embroidered into the step between the rider and pillion seats.

That likely means that what we see here is precisely the bike that will be unveiled later this year at one of the six remaining new-model-launch dates Ducati has arranged between September and November. While the bike’s stance and proportions are instantly recognizable as a Diavel, with its slanted headlight, large side-mounted air intakes, short tail, and massive rear tire on a single-sided swingarm, there’s actually almost nothing carried over from the current V-twin model. The engine is the clearest departure, with the old 162 hp, 1,262cc Testastretta DVT gone and replaced by the Granturismo version of the Ducati V-4 that first appeared in the Multistrada V4.

The Granturismo version of the V-4 that powers the Multistrada, will be used in the Diavel. (Ducati/)

In the Multistrada V4, that engine produces 170 hp at 10,500 rpm and 92 lb.-ft. of torque at 8,750 rpm, not a vast power increase compared to the current Diavel’s 162 hp at 9,500 rpm and a slight dip in torque, with the existing V-twin making 95 lb.-ft. at 7,500 rpm. However, the V-4 is a lighter, more compact, and more modern engine than the old Testastretta, weighing around half a pound less and providing the all-important link to the company’s competition activities, all of which now revolve around V-4s, whether in MotoGP or WSBK.

Although we can see from the visible sections of the engine cases that the new Diavel motor is the Granturismo V4, rather than the Desmosedici Stradale version used in the Panigale V4, Superleggera V4, and Streetfighter V4, there’s clearly headroom for that engine to be more highly tuned. Despite its smaller 1,103cc size, the Stradale version is good for well over 200 hp in all its applications.

In this shot, you can clearly see the four individual exhaust silencers exiting from the underbelly muffler. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

The adoption of the V-4 engine means that, despite its familiar visuals, the Diavel can’t carry over its old steel-trellis frame. Instead, the engine makes up the main structure of the bike, with subframes fore and aft to hold the steering head and seat, respectively. It looks like the rear subframe is still a trellis design, bolted onto the rear cylinder bank and providing an upper mount for the rear monoshock, itself repositioned from the near-horizontal layout of the current Diavel to a more conventional angle. However, there doesn’t appear to be any space for a rising-rate linkage where the shock meets the single-sided swingarm, itself also a new design.

Visually, the bike might be instantly recognizable, but it shares little or nothing with the old Diavel. The wheels are a new design, albeit with some close visual ties to versions used in the past, including the machined alloy sections on the sides of the spokes. The exhaust gives a clear clue to the V-4 engine, with four separate tail pipes emerging from the underbelly muffler.

This view shows how the air intakes have had to be redesigned to feed the V-4. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

Farther forward, the engine’s air intakes might reach around the sides of the fork and align with the headlight like the old Diavel’s. Moving back they’re quite different; where the old bike’s intakes merge straight into the sides of the tank, the new ones remain separate, angling down to pull air into the V of the engine. Whether intentional or not, the result appears to be a nod to the Yamaha V-Max. That’s fitting, as Yamaha has been laboring at the idea of V-4-powered muscle cruisers for decades, and the V-Max was arguably the inspiration of the Diavel from day one.

The bike spied here appears to be the base version, with black fork tubes, similar to the 50mm units of the current Diavel. Inevitably there will also be an S version with gold-colored Öhlins suspension instead. However, if this is the base Diavel, it’s been upgraded in the braking department as it appears to use the Brembo Stylema calipers from the current S model.  With the Diavel V4 clearly heading for production immediately, the question remains over how long the XDiavel will continue with the 1,262cc V-twin engine. With the Multistrada already having gone to the V-4, the XDiavel will be the last bike standing with the old variable-valve-timed DVT version of the Testastretta. By 2024 it’s almost certain to ditch it in favor of the V-4 as well.

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