NCR Mike Hailwood TT Replica 2009 — Specifications

Thirty years after Mike Hailwood returned to the track to score one of the most remarkable victories in Tourist Trophy history, on a surprising Ducati NCR 900, a workshop in Bologna decided to rekindle the flame. Not to sell dreams in series production, not to dress up a catalog. To build twelve motorcycles. Twelve, no more.

NCR is not a manufacturer in the industrial sense. It is a goldsmith. For years, this handful of Italian artisans has transformed Ducati bases into objects that have little to do with their starting point, except for the mechanical DNA. The Mike Hailwood TT Replica presented in Milan in 2009 may represent the pinnacle of this exercise. The 1120 cm3 L-twin engine is entirely assembled in-house, air-cooled according to the transalpine tradition, and delivers 130 horsepower at 8700 rpm for 132 Nm of torque available from 7000 rpm. On a machine that weighs only 136 kg fully fueled, the power-to-weight ratio leaves little room for complacency.

This figure deserves attention. 136 kg for a road bike of this displacement is an achievement that is no accident. The tubular titanium frame weighs only 5 kg on the scale. The fairing is carbon fiber, as are the wheels. Titanium runs throughout the machine: complete exhaust line, valves, connecting rods, fasteners. Every superfluous gram has been tracked with a method that more closely resembles the preparation of an endurance machine than the production of a collector motorcycle. Öhlins suspensions are those found in Superbike, a pressurized FGR 900 inverted fork at the front, a double lateral combined at the rear. Brembo monobloc calipers complete the ensemble with the same logic: only competition-grade equipment directly transplanted onto a road-legal machine.

The price positioning is that of a high-end sports car. €100,000, exactly what MV Agusta asked for its F4 1000 CC at the same time. Except that the MV came out of an assembly line and was found at dealerships. The NCR, on the other hand, will be entirely handcrafted, numbered, and delivered to twelve owners worldwide. It is no longer a premium series motorcycle; it is a functional sculpture with a certificate of registration.

This type of project is not for the motorcyclist looking for a versatile or high-performing daily rider. It is for the enlightened collector who wants to own an object steeped in mechanical history and manufactured without industrial compromises. The name Hailwood is not there to look pretty on the fairing. It recalls that in 1978, a retired driver humiliated the competition on a machine that everyone underestimated. NCR pays homage to this victory with the only means at its disposal: work, titanium, and twelve serial numbers.