The 999 was designed by Pierre Terblanche, amid much controversy over its styling. It is known as an extremely high performance, race oriented motorcycle. With its traditional Ducati L Twin Desmodromic Valve actuated engine layout, it has a linear power delivery, with high power and torque figures available even at low RPM.
Additionally, with its high spec suspension and trellis chassis, it is one of the finest handling motorcycles for its time.Subsequently, more powerful 999S and 999R versions were introduced, both capable of 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in under three seconds; and a top speed of over 170 mph (+270 km/h).The 2005 Ducati 999S won the Maxisport category for the prestigious international Masterbike 2005 comparison and finished 2nd overall. It has received critical acclaim from many corners, such as MCN of the U.K. which called it "simply the best V-Twin on the planet", and Motorbikestoday.com, which described it as "the most desirable, most exciting roadbike on the planet" in 2004. MotorcycleUSA.com described it as "stupendous" and "the epitome of V-Twin power."