The best scene of The Matrix Reloaded film was a chase scene featuring a Ducati 996, and the Italian firm created a limited edition of motorcycles as a tie-in with the movie. Only problem was, by the time the movie was released, the 998 was already on dealer floors. Close enough, right?
The chase scene was impressive from a technical standpoint – production crews built a 1.5 mile freeway on old runways of a decommissioned Naval Air Station. Near the end of the scene, the 996 is featured for some high-speed lane splitting:
Bonus Video: I’ve watched this scene a whole bunch of times but only just discovered this ‘behind the scenes’ clip from Fifth Gear, part of which covers the motorcycle shots. It’s worth a few minutes of your time:
The exact number of production is unclear, though I’ve seen a few rumors that 150 Matrix Editions were built. Changes were purely cosmetic – you got a dark green paint job to match the movie bike, and some decals that don’t match the movie bike.
This specific example has 6,738 miels and it’s got a Silmotor ECU and full exhaust, Power Commander III, Fabbri tall windscreen, and a spare Matrix Edition gas tank. It’s being offered by the second owner. Find this Ducati for sale in Virginia Beach, Virginia for $6,000 here on Ducati.ms.