It’s been ten years since Italian superbike maker Aprilia re-entered MotoGP with its V4 1,000cc RS-GP racebike. And the Noale outfit has marked the ceremony with another one of its ‘unobtainium’ special X bikes.
This year, the bike is based on the latest RSV4 1100 Factory superbike from the firm, and it’s been given a more extreme makeover than ever before. The 1100 V4 engine has been fully race tuned to make a stunning 238bhp, while the chassis is festooned with carbon, magnesium and titanium, shaving the mass down to 165kg dry.
That’s only six kg heavier than the firm’s 47bhp RS457 mini sportsbike.
The spec is hugely impressive, as it should be at the price – €90,000 plus VAT, which is around £94,000 at current exchange rates. For your near-£100k, you get a frankly wild engine tune, making nearly 240bhp from the 1100cc 65° V4 RSV engine.
That powerplant has been prepared by the Aprilia Racing department and now has a claimed maximum power of 238 HP at 13,750 rpm (with max engine rpm at 14,100) and maximum torque at the crankshaft of 131 Nm at 11,750 rpm.
That comes from tweaked internals, plus increased compression ratio, as well as the use of the high permeability Sprint Filter racing air filter, airbox intake trumpets with racing specs, the MotoGP replica titanium double-pipe exhaust system made by SC Project, and the STM dry clutch.
The ECU is an Aprilia Racing APX, unit developed from the one WSBK race component used by Max Biaggi on his RSV4. The ECU boasts operational strategies identical to those implemented for the RSV4 bikes used in racing and with fully adjustable parameters to adapt to riding styles and track conditions, with data acquisition for performance analysis.
In particular, the APX system allows for calibration of front wheel lift mitigation and power, traction control, and engine braking for each individual gear. The APX system is completed by a built-in GPS system.
The twin-spar aluminium frame, is fitted with full race Öhlins suspension including a gas front fork, while the Brembo braking system includes a 19×16 front master cylinder combined with billet GP4 MS calipers fitted with Z04 pads that grip 5.5” DP 330 “T Drive” brake disks.
The Aprilia RSV4 X-GP rides on a set of forged magnesium Marchesini rims, shod with the same slicks Pirelli uses in the World Superbike Championship (125/70 CS-1 at the front and 200/65 SC-X at the rear).
The RSV4 X-GP is also festooned with wild aerodynamic kit, derived from the RS-GP25 MotoGP bike, especially at the rear end. The most prominent new feature of the entire aerodynamics package – derived from MotoGP – is the ‘leg wings’ at the bottom of the forks, a technology developed and patented by Aprilia Racing, as well as the tail wings, both introduced just a few months ago on the RS-GP25.
The combination of the leg wings and the tail wings add aerodynamic load in the braking and cornering stages, as well as the front wing, the under wing, and the cornering wings.
This trick aerodynamic bodykit is joined by a unique structural carbon seat support, made by PAN Compositi, with built-in structural, aerodynamic, and design features. Another design refinement of this new feature is the “sandwich structure type” processing of the carbon that layers the carbon fibre to make it extremely light, whilst still maintaining the desired stiffness.
Ground effect aerodynamics decrease air pressure between the ground and the fairing when the bike is leaned into a corner, creating downforce that pushes the bike toward the ground.
All the fairings are made in carbon by PAN Compositi using the same procedures followed for the MotoGP bikes to keep it as faithful as possible to the Aprilia Racing prototype.
Compared with the RSV4, the new version allows for five times the vertical load of air pressure on the straight, increasing stability and riding precision, simultaneously decreasing front lift-up and tripling the load with the bike leaned over, all with huge benefits to grip when cornering.
Both mudguards are full carbon fibre, the button cluster on the right handlebar is racing by Jetprime, whereas the adjustable footpegs, clutch lever, fuel cap, and engine crankcase and front brake lever guards are by Spider, as well as the billet aluminium top yoke which bears the production number of the bike.
The oversized water and oil radiators are straight from WSBK, whereas the final drive includes a super-trick titanium rear sprocket and lighter front sprocket by PBR, with an RK 520 chain.
Each of the 30 Aprilia RSV4 X-GP units, available on the European market at a cost of €90,000 + VAT, can be booked exclusively online from September through the FACTORYWORKS.APRILIA.COM web area. Purchasers will also have the option of collecting their respective bikes from Aprilia Racing, with an exclusive visit to the Noale racing department.
In addition to the numbered limited edition bike, they will also receive a Yashi laptop preloaded with software to manage the ECU parameters and electronic strategies, a dedicated NFT for the digital copy of the certificate of authenticity and other content managed through blockchain technology, IRC thermal tyre covers, RCB titanium front and rear stands, a floor mat, and a bike cover.
The 2025 RSV4 X-GP is the fifth generation of the X bike project, which kicked off in 2019 with the RSV4 X, then with the Tuono X in 2020, followed in 2022 by the advanced RSV4 X Trenta and in 2024 with the RSV4 X ex3ma.
Massimo Rivola, CEO at Aprilia Racing said, “Ten years after their return to MotoGP, Aprilia Racing wanted to celebrate the occasion with a truly special X, drawing as much as possible from MotoGP and transferring many concepts of the RS-GP25 to a factory derivative bike.
This is certainly a unique, beautiful, and extremely intriguing product capable of providing special sensations – those that only racing riders know how to take full advantage of, but which even an amateur enthusiast can clearly perceive. It is a product for a select few which houses all of Aprilia Racing’s passion, technology, and artisanal love for racing.”
And Fabiano Sterlacchini, Aprilia Racing technical director added, “With the RSV4 X-GP, we wanted to take another step forward in our project of placing the most advanced technology in the hands of our customers. Our engineers created something that is much more than an evolution of the extraordinary X project. It is a bike truly born out of MotoGP DNA.
Several features demonstrate this: the aerodynamics with leg and tail wings derived directly from the RS-GP25, the structural carbon seat support, with technology like that used on the MotoGP bikes and an exceptional weight/power ratio. Numerous components – both visible and not – are new or have been optimised with the goal of ensuring performance and a riding experience in line with the highest standards of motorsport.”
APRILIA RSV4 X-GP TECH SHEET
Track-only 2025 Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory. Built by Aprilia Racing
Price: €90,000 plus VAT, limited to 30 bikes worlwide
Engine:
65° DOHC 16-valve water cooled V4, 1,099 cc with SBK racing specifications
Exhaust:
SC-Project Titanium full race system. MotoGP replica 4-2 with balance pipe between cylinder banks
Airbox
MY25 throttle body and dedicated intake trumpets
Air Filter
High permeability racing MotoGP by Sprint Filter
Electronic Central Unit
APX Aprilia Racing with specific settings and GPS system
Radiators (water and oil)
Oversized Racing – SBK technology
Transmission
Titanium rear sprocket and lighter front sprocket by PBR (designed by Aprilia Racing)
Chain
RK 520
Claimed peak power at crankshaft
238bhp@13.500 Rpm
Claimed peak torque at crankshaft
131 Nm @ 11.000 Rpm
Redline
14.100 Rpm
Wheels
Forged magnesium Marchesini M7R GENESI (front 17″x3.5″ – rear 17”x6″)
Tyres
Pirelli Slick Diablo SBK ant. SC-1 125/70 post. SC-X 200/65
Brakes
Brembo monobloc calipers: GP4 MS, Brembo master cylinder PR19x16, Z04 pads
Front Brake Disks
Brembo DP 330 “T Drive”, thickness 5.5mm
Front Forks
Pressurised cartridge gas Öhlins FKR with mechanical control. Adjustable in: spring preload and hydraulic (with dedicated setup) compression and rebound damping.
Rear Shock Absorber
Öhlins TTX monoshock mechanically managed piggyback derived from MotoGP, fully adjustable in: spring pre-load, wheelbase and hydraulic (with dedicated setup), compression and rebound damping.
Steering damper
Öhlins, adjustable
Clutch
Dry clutch by STM
Upper Triple Clampe
Racing, lighter, CNC machined
Switchgear
Racing by Jetprime
Clutch Lever
Racing by Spider
Footrests Kit
Racing, adjustable, by Spider
Fairing
MotoGP specifications, full carbon by PAN Compositi
Aero package
Carbon front and under wing, cornering wings, leg wings, tail
wings, seat Support by PAN Compositi
Structural carbon seat support, by PAN Compositi
Mudguard and chain guard
Full carbon
Livery
“RS-GP25”
CNC parts protections, by Spider
Fuel tank cap, engine crankcase and brake lever
Dry Weight
165 kg