Skip to main content

Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition Unveiled

Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, unveiled the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition flanked by Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri of the Ducati World Superbike team this evening in Pebble Beach, California, in advance of the World Superbike races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.

The 1299 Panigale R Final Edition will be the last in the line of Panigale sportbikes, as Ducati is preparing a new supersport bike with a V-4 engine.

“Maybe no other motorcycle manufacturer has bound its name so tightly to an engine as Ducati has to its sports twin-cylinder,” said Domenicali. “Today we’re here to celebrate its history, just as we stand on the cusp of a new era in which our desmodromic system will be used on a new generation of V-4 engines derived from extensive experience in MotoGP. But that’s the future. Today we want to pay homage to a twin-cylinder engine that – thanks to incredible torque and compactness – has seen Ducati win races in every SBK championship it has ever participated in.”

This new R-FE is essentially a Panigale R but with the 1285cc displacement of the 1299 model instead of the R’s 1198cc. It will be progressively numbered but not limited edition, with some significant changes in the engine room.

The FE’s motor is basically a Superleggera motor but with steel cylinder liners and without titanium connecting rods and valves. Additionally, the FE does not have sand-cast cases. Power is rated at the crank at 209 hp, up from the 197 hp found on the 1299 Panigale S (or the 196 hp of the R). Torque numbers increase from 101 lb-ft to 104 lb-ft. Also of note is the full titanium WSBK-style exhaust. Weight drops from a claimed dry weight of 367 lbs. on the S model to 357 lbs. for the FE, which is at least partially due to the up-spec exhaust.

Visually, the biggest differences with the FE is the tri-color livery and the full titanium exhaust. Our eyes on the ground tell us the bike is visually stunning with the fit and finish fully worthy of a Final Edition Panigale 1299.

This article first appeared on motorcycle.com

The post Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition Unveiled appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2uVtV1b
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...
Post a Comment
Read more