This is a 1:10 scale model of a Ducati 996 made by Minichamps.com.  The bike is an exact miniature replica of the Ducati that was used in the great sci-fi film  ' Matrix Reloaded ' 

If you saw this exciting film then you will recognize the bike as the one that the character named '  Trinity ' rode on the freeway chase scene with the "key-maker" riding pillion.

Immediately above and below this text box are six frames taken directly off the movie.

This model is a favorite of mine and is up to Minichamps very high quality of scale model bike manufacturing as every last bit of detail is to be found on it.  Under very close scrutiny I find that this model is flawless, with one minor exception and that is the front suspension has not been duplicated to work as the original and is solid fixed.

This does not distract me form the overall elegance of the model though.

The Ducati 996 is a very fast bike delivering 112 Horse Power @ 8500rpm with a top speed of 161 mph or 259kmh.  With the right tuning and a few custom parts the Ducati 996 can actually  reach 175 mph.  This bike was produced from 1999 up until 2002 when it was succeeded by the Ducati 998

The 996 was based on its predecessor, the highly successful, fast and reliable Ducati 916.

The Ducati 996 was fitted with an 'L' twin engine that was petrol injected and had 4 valves per cylinder, equaling eight altogether.  The engine was liquid cooled and needless to say, the engines capacity is 996cc or 61Cubic inches.

All the power went through a six speed manual gearbox that was smooth and faultless in its operation.

All of the updates that went into the real Ducati 996 between the years 2000 and 2002 are present on the scale model, these include the Marchesini wheels and an emulation of the titanium nitride front forks that reduced friction.

The wheels spokes were modified from three spoke rims style of the 916 to a new five spoke look that was also stronger by design.

The rear shocks were upgraded from the  standard Ducati fitting of the  'Showa' brand  to the fitting of  higher performance Öhlin's.  The rear big single suspension spring as visible in the picture below was made to be 100% adjustable for damping stiffness and preload.  This served to increase the bikes handling and performance even more, and made it similar now to a Motor GP bike.

There were also discreet modifications to the chassis to further improve handling and stability at high speeds and its worth mentioning here that the new wheels weighed less than the 916 style and the brakes had more efficient calipers, discs and pads.

Another great shot of the bike below with the fairing still removed to show the engine in a fuller perspective.

To continue with the discreet modifications that the real Ducati 996 received was to include larger pistons that were now 98mm, larger valves were incorporated, along with a much stronger crankshaft.  A new air intake was also equipped onto the 996 with two fuel injection units...one for each pot.

The front view of the Ducati 996 with a super aerodynamic fairing which has the two main beams frenched in nice and flush.  The mirrors that stick obtrusively out of the sides does not always look right on some of the newer bikes that have this style, but I think that Ducati got this one right.

And there we have it, another great scale model from the masters of creation...albeit miniature motorcycles oh ...and they also make scale model cars as well.

Thanks for viewing and taking an interest in this curios pastime.