I'm probably in a minority, but I don't think the Desmosedici is very pretty at all. I prefer the looks of the 999, even in the race version, and they're gonna have to be very carfeful about where they put lights and mirrors onto the sedici if they don't want to make it look worse.
Why don't I like the looks? Well flame me if you want but I think it looks more like an ST than anything else (and even though I own an ST, I'm not wild about it's looks). Take a look, from the bottom fairing upwards. Same sort of angle going upwards towards the back of the bike, then going foward in a straight line up towards a very bulbous top fairing, same sort of air vent. If you tacked a single seat onto an ST it wouldn't be a million miles away...but it sure wouldn't be purdy!
The V4 would be a nice idea though. Even though I absolutely love V-twins it would be nice to have no compromises and have an engine that could easily equal Jap IL4's in a straight line, instead of having to make it up on corner speed. Alright, I know the exotica like 999R's can pretty much do that now, but in terms of making out and out power the laws of physics dictate that you're always gonna be able to get air into 4 little cylinders quicker than two thumping great big ones, you're gonna be able to get a quick burn and get the exhaust gases out quicker too, you're going to be able to make it rev higher and therefore produce more power.
I have yet to see any pictures of this bike. Dont finish my tour in Nigeria for another week or so, so as you can imagine somewhat starved of information out here until I get back to the UK. Could not find it on MCN's website and naturally Ducati are being very coy about releasing any images, even though their flash "FLASH" animation on their website does nothing to satisfy the curious mind. Any one able to post alink to the pics on this thread?