Winged Aprilia RSV4 XTrenta might be closest thing to a MotoGP bike you can buy?

Aprilia has pulled the wraps off its newest special edition of the RSV 4 sportsbike, the MotoGP-inspired Aprilia RSV 4 XTrenta.

Following on from the Aprilia RSV 4 X of 2019, the XTrenta - translated as ‘30’ in Italian - has been created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Italian manufacturer’s first grand prix world title in 1992.

Among several key new features to trickle down from the firm’s increasingly successful RS-GP MotoGP racer, the track-only RSV 4 XTrenta is the first production motorcycle to feature rear and under wings.

Designed to offer high performance in a featherweight package, the Aprilia RSV 4 XTrenta offers 230hp from its tuned 1099cc engine in a chassis that weighs total just 166kg, while it also features a modern interpretation of its classic silver, red, black and purple colourway, styled to give it a sharper final look.

Where the RSV 4 XTrenta - compared with X - really distinguishes itself is in the aerodynamics department, where engineers have borrowed several innovations from the RS-GP to give owners of 100 models constructed the closest feeling to a MotoGP machine yet.

In an industry-first, the RSV 4 XTrenta comes with a butterfly-style split tail-fin and also an ‘under wing’ or spoon, so-called because it resembles a shovel-like device in front of the rear wheel. Featuring on the RS-GP in 2019 for the first time, the under wing increases aero load by 25% and reduces drag by 4%.

Elsewhere, the RSV 4 XTrenta adds SC-Project specific titanium and carbon exhaust system, a Sprint Filter air filter as used in MotoGP and F1, while the carbon fairing is created by PAN Compositi, using the same processes as used in MotoGP for the vast front wings, and PBR titanium sprocket and a JetPrime racing panel.

Only 100 units of the Aprilia RSV 4 XTrenta will be made at a price of €50,000 and can be snapped up exclusively online on 6 September.

The new ‘ultimate’ RSV4 comes in the year Aprilia has stepped up to become a MotoGP title contender for the first time. Returning to the premier class in 2015 - having clinched three WorldSBK titles in the years prior to that - Aprilia has struggled for performance and reliability, finishing bottom of the constructor pile in each of the seasons since.

However, an upturn in form has seen Aleix Espargaro secure its first win of the MotoGP era during the 2022 Argentinian MotoGP.

The XTrenta itself is inspired by its 1992 125GP World Championship win with Alessandro Gramigni, the first of 54 world titles it has gone on to win in motorcycle racing.