When riders talk about performance, the conversation almost always circles back to numbers. Horsepower, torque, weight, lap times. But the qualities that often matter most are harder to measure. How a bike settles when you squeeze the brakes. How it digs in and holds a line through a corner. How it speaks to you through the bars and the seat.
Aprilia has obsessed over those details for years. The stuff that doesn’t get all the attention but ends up separating fast from faster. And the RSV4 X-GP is their loudest statement yet.
Aprilia has never been a brand for everyone. Their bikes are made for riders who want something rare and a little uncompromising. The RS-GP MotoGP project has been fighting at the sharp end of the grid for ten years now, proving that Noale can hang with the giants. They don’t have Ducati’s marketing fireworks or Yamaha’s global volume, but what they do have is a stubborn focus on making machines that feel different from anything else. Exotic, technical, and just a bit rebellious.
The RSV4 X-GP is cut from that exact cloth.
Only 30 will exist. Each one costs €90,000, which works out to about $98,000. That alone tells you what kind of game this is. It’s not a street bike—not even close. This thing is MotoGP tech with just enough concessions to let a handful of lucky riders buy in. It marks ten years since the RS-GP’s debut, and Aprilia wanted something that would carry its DNA straight off the grid and onto private track days.
Look at it and you know immediately. The wings aren’t just for show. Sure, we’re all used to seeing front winglets now, but this takes things into a new dimension. Leg wings. Tail wings. Cornering wings. An under-wing. All designed by Aprilia Racing, all functional. They add downforce when you brake. They keep the bike glued as you turn. They help you stay planted on the gas. Even the fairing sides create ground effect, literally sucking the bike toward the asphalt when it leans. Aprilia says vertical load is five times higher on the straights compared to the regular RSV4, and triple through corners.
The frame is familiar aluminum, but the back half is something new. Aprilia worked with PAN Compositi to create a structural carbon seat support. Not just a tail unit. Not just weight savings. It’s part of the bike’s dynamics, giving sharper feedback from the rear tire. They layered the carbon in a sandwich structure to make it light but stiff, so every slip and bite at the back is clearer to the rider.
Of course, all the bodywork is carbon too, made to the same spec as the RS-GP. Throw in forged magnesium Marchesini wheels, billet aluminum hardware, and titanium sprockets, and you get a dry weight of 363 pounds. That’s crazy light for what this bike carries.
And what it carries is 238 horsepower from a 1,099cc V4. It screams to 14,100rpm, with peak torque at 96.6 pound-feet at 11,750. The motor is tuned by Aprilia Racing with top spec parts, a high-flow Sprint Filter, dedicated intake trumpets, and an SC-Project titanium system that mimics the MotoGP bike with twin pipes. Given that much power and torque, Aprilia turned to an STM dry clutch to keep it all precise.
Keeping that fury in check is Aprilia’s APX ECU. It’s the same system Aprilia used to win in WorldSBK with Max Biaggi all those years ago. All of the bike’s electronic features can be adjusted individually. We’re talking gear by gear control for traction, wheelie mitigation, and engine braking. GPS data logging is also built in, and Aprilia even includes a laptop loaded with their tuning software so owners can adjust the maps, change the strategies, and analyze the laps. It’s pro-level stuff, handed to the buyer.
As for the hardware, well, it’s nothing but top-notch goodies. The suspension comes straight out of the racing playbook, with Öhlins components tuned specifically for track duty. Up front are pressurized cartridge forks, while the rear is managed by a MotoGP-derived TTX shock. Braking is equally serious, handled by Brembo GP4 MS calipers clamping down on massive 330 mm T-Drive rotors, with a nickel-plated caliper working the rear.
The wheels are forged magnesium Marchesinis, fitted with Pirelli Superbike slicks in the same spec used in WorldSBK. Add racing switchgear from Jetprime, billet footpegs and levers from Spider, and oversized radiators for cooling, and it’s clear that every component has been chosen with performance in mind.
Each RSV4 X-GP is individually numbered and finished in the same RS-GP25 livery seen on Aprilia’s MotoGP machines. Buyers don’t just get the bike, either. The package includes stands, tire warmers, a cover, and even a blockchain-verified digital certificate of authenticity. Those who choose to collect their bike in Noale are treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Aprilia Racing’s headquarters, turning the purchase into a full-blown experience.
The X-GP isn’t built for practicality, and it’s not chasing mass appeal. It’s a showcase of everything Aprilia has learned in MotoGP, distilled into 30 track-only machines. Exotic, technical, and brutally fast, it’s the closest most riders will ever get to straddling a true prototype.
Source: Aprilia
