Celebrated Designer Transforms Ducati 996 Into Neo Café Racer

Luca Pagani’s Euforia is a feast for the eyes and ears.

Dustin Wheelen

By: Dustin Wheelen

Apr 27, 2023 at 5:23pm ET

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Italian designer Luca Pagani teaches at Torino’s Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). When he isn’t demonstrating his clay modeling expertise before students in legendary designer Angel Lussiana’s studio, he is working on his own passion projects. Tucked away in a corner of the studio, Pagani brought the Euforia to life, a Ducati 996-based neo café racer that merges multiple eras of motorcycling design.

Like most customs, Pagani’s brainchild initially came to life in various sketches. He then committed the drawings to digital renders before sculpting the bodywork in 3D with clay. The medium allowed the artist to finalize the flowing lines and proportions. Before creating molds, Pagani settled on the Ducati 996 as the foundation of the Euforia.

The designer then crafted the front fairing, fuel tank, and tail unit separately. Despite that divided production process, Pagani arranged the bodywork in a seamless manner. The project doesn’t dwell on cohesion, though. The voluptuous tail unit mimics sportbikes of the early aughts, a la the Ducati 996, while the front fairing streamlines the classic ‘60s-era bubble fairing. Flared winglets at the fairing’s bottom edge lend a touch of modernity and the red-leather seat masks the seam lines while elevating the build.

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On the technical side, Pagani keeps the job Italian by adopting Brembo brakes and a 2-into-1-into-2, under-tail, stainless-steel FF by Fresco exhaust. A dry clutch only adds percussion to that pleasing wind instrument, lending that iconic Ducati clatter to the build. The 996 pairs all that sound with the fury of its 112-horsepower, Desmodromic L-twin.

Gallery: Euforia: Ducati 996

However, Pagani also offers customers Euforia builds based on the modern Monster 937 platform. Whether you prefer the classic Ducati trellis frame or the latest-generation Monster’s monocoque unit, Pagani’s stunningly crafted bodywork should steal all the attention.