Photo: Ducati
In part because it is a steady presence in more than one racing championships across the world, Italian bike builder Ducati has made a habit of coming up with insanely powerful bikes for street use. But nothing that came before this week comes even close to the Superleggera V4.
Seen as an evolution of the extreme Panigale V4, the Superleggera promises to combine, just as its name says, a lightweight bike with an engine so powerful that would make even certified racers feel envy.
Described as the “most powerful and technologically advanced production Ducati ever built” the Superleggera V4 packs a 998 cm3 Desmosedici Stradale R engine good for 224 hp in road-legal configuration.
When a special racing kit is applied, power increases to 234 hp. Throw in this mix carbon fiber chassis, swingarm and wheels – this bike is the only one in the world to have such hardware – and you got yourself a power/weight ratio of 1.54 hp/kg.
That was enough apparently for a Superleggera V4 to go around the Mugello circuit in 1:52:45 minutes, just a couple a seconds slower than the Panigale V4 R SBK, a race bike that won the 2019 Italian Motorspeed Championship.
Ducati plans to manufacture this bike in limited numbers. Only 500 of them will be made by the end of 2020, each with it’s own identification number fitted on the frame, fork yoke and ignition key. But it will be exclusive in other ways as well.
Ducati will offer exclusively for Superleggera V4 buyers a special engine calibration for the racing exhaust, a RaceGP display not unlike the one deployed on the Desmosedici GP20, the best Brembo braking system money can buy, and a premium leather suit with integrated air-bag and a carbon fiber helmet.
They will also get a track test on the factory Panigale V4 R seen on the circuits of the Superbike World Championship, and the chance to ride for a brief time a Desmosedici GP20.
Ducati did not say how much the Superleggera V4 will cost. Full details on the bike can be found in the press release section below.
Described as the “most powerful and technologically advanced production Ducati ever built” the Superleggera V4 packs a 998 cm3 Desmosedici Stradale R engine good for 224 hp in road-legal configuration.
When a special racing kit is applied, power increases to 234 hp. Throw in this mix carbon fiber chassis, swingarm and wheels – this bike is the only one in the world to have such hardware – and you got yourself a power/weight ratio of 1.54 hp/kg.
That was enough apparently for a Superleggera V4 to go around the Mugello circuit in 1:52:45 minutes, just a couple a seconds slower than the Panigale V4 R SBK, a race bike that won the 2019 Italian Motorspeed Championship.
Ducati plans to manufacture this bike in limited numbers. Only 500 of them will be made by the end of 2020, each with it’s own identification number fitted on the frame, fork yoke and ignition key. But it will be exclusive in other ways as well.
Ducati will offer exclusively for Superleggera V4 buyers a special engine calibration for the racing exhaust, a RaceGP display not unlike the one deployed on the Desmosedici GP20, the best Brembo braking system money can buy, and a premium leather suit with integrated air-bag and a carbon fiber helmet.
They will also get a track test on the factory Panigale V4 R seen on the circuits of the Superbike World Championship, and the chance to ride for a brief time a Desmosedici GP20.
Ducati did not say how much the Superleggera V4 will cost. Full details on the bike can be found in the press release section below.
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