The Testastretta Evoluzione engine is the crowning glory of Ducati's development and perfection of the L-Twin engine. World Superbike dominance for almost two decades is the result of continual commitment to twin-cylinder technology. The 1098 is the most powerful twin-cylinder production engine in history, while the 848 is our most powerful middleweight Superbike ever, boasting a power increase of more than 30% over its predecessor. Both are fitting rewards to our engineers' continued ingenuity.
The Testastretta Evoluzione engine is immediately recognisable by its completely new compact cylinders and cylinder heads. Other innovations and revisions are less obvious as they reside inside the Evoluzione's engine cases, but whether external or internal, every new development was conceived to create a lighter, more efficient, more powerful and ultra-compact engine.
The 1098 and 848's increased capacity is the result of significant increases in the bore and stroke of the Evoluzione motor. Highly 'over-square', they sport big bores and relatively short strokes. To optimise the benefits of the new, big Ducati Twins, the redesigned cylinder heads combine with advanced MotoGP induction technology, to enable even the standard specification 848 and 1098 to produce more power than the previous extreme Testastretta 'R' engines.The Testastretta Evoluzione engine is immediately recognisable by its completely new compact cylinders and cylinder heads. Other innovations and revisions are less obvious as they reside inside the Evoluzione's engine cases, but whether external or internal, every new development was conceived to create a lighter, more efficient, more powerful and ultra-compact engine.
The Evoluzione features a narrow angle between intake and exhaust valves allowing highly efficient, straight intake ducts and newly shaped combustion chambers that contain racing size 'R' valves operated by radical 'R' derived camshafts.
After optimising the Evoluzione cylinder heads, engineers focussed upon releasing the potential of the new design by feeding them with MotoGP-derived elliptical throttle bodies. With a 30% increase in air flow over conventional throttle bodies, the new elliptical shape contributes a substantial increase in power to the record-breaking motors. 1098 and 848 owners will be the first to feel the power of this MotoGP technology on the road.
The Testastretta Evoluzione engines are the lightest ever in a Ducati Superbike, thanks to close scrutiny of every engine component. New cylinder heads benefit from fewer components and include magnesium covers to achieve a weight-saving of over 3kg (6.5+lbs) in the heads alone. The 848 takes the weight reduction even further with new crankcase manufacturing technology that shaves off an additional 3 kg (6.5 lbs). By reducing the weight of many other components, including transmission gears and the gear selector drum as well as the oil pump and primary gears, a staggering total reduction of 5 kg (11.1 lbs) for the 1098 engine and 8 kg for the 848 engine is achieved.
The Testastretta Evoluzione's increase in power is protected by a highly efficient oil cooler with a large surface area and an advanced coolant radiator assisted by lightweight, high flow electric fan assemblies.
Finally, both the 848 and 1098 feature a beautiful and efficient exhaust system. Significantly lighter, it has been engineered with a power-increasing symmetrical 2-1-2 layout that uses 52 mm-57 mm diameter tubing with wall thickness reduced by 30% to 0.8 mm (.030 in). The system terminates with Ducati's trademark twin under-seat silencers, delivering that unmistakable signature sound of the big bore Desmo 90° L-Twin.
