Being stylish is nothing new for the Italians, as their unprecedented knack of fashion, style, art and eloquence has amazed the world for centuries. Italian motorbikes are no exception to this, as we have seen many beauties in the form of MV Augusta’s, Aprilia’s, and of course Ducati’s. At a recent press conference at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Ducati had once again proved their inborn stylish character with the launch of their ground-breaking and innovative new superbike – the 1199 Panigale.

As soon as you lay your eyes on this ultra-modern sports bike, your mind will start playing games with you – the voice in your head will scream out as you begin to just imagine what you could do with this metal creature. The design speaks out loud, so loud that I don’t think there is another production bike on this planet that could grab much more starry eyes. The fairings and cowlings are very simple, but the fine detailing and finishing touches are sublime, if not near perfect. Every last detail of the 1199 Panigale pays tribute to Ducati’s rich heritage of racing and each component is not only functionally efficient, but beautifully engineered into pieces of automotive art. Another highly distinctive feature of this bike is the rear light mounted in the streamlined and pointed tail, and the stylishly designed triple 3-spoke, forged and machined wheels by Marchesini – finished in black with signature red pin-striping.



The design philosophy, in keeping with the times, has managed to reduce weight and increase power, the end result being a reduction in bike weight of 10 kg compared to the 1198. It is also equipped with Marzocchi’s new 50mm lightweight aluminium front forks and Sachs rear suspension unit. The 1199 Panigale is such an awesome bike, the manufacturers themselves have admitted that they have never before engineered such an advanced bike. The 1198 Panigale instrumentation takes Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screens to the next level with a stunning race-derived unit that uses the latest information display technology. The full colour display automatically changes its layout according to the Riding Mode selected in order to provide optimum clarity of information, even reversing its character and background colours in low-light conditions.

The Superquadro is the most powerful twin-cylinder production engine on the planet and the new Ducati 1199 Panigale, with absolute performance perfection, has increased power to an absolute production twin-cylinder milestone of 195bhp and is controlled with user-friendly Riding Modes that deliver that power appropriate to the rider’s style and environment. Each Riding Mode is pre-programmed to instantly change the engine’s Power Mode and the suspension set-up in addition to ABS, DTC and EBC levels - even while riding. Ducati’s engineers also capitalised on the opportunity to increase dimension between the centres of the six-speed gearbox shafts, enabling larger diameter and stronger gears to transmit the enhanced power output.

New for a top-of-the-range Ducati Superbike is a “wet,” oil-bath clutch. Based very closely on the design of the Multistrada and Diavel components, the clutch assembly features a “slipper” function and a progressive self-servo mechanism that compresses the friction plates when under drive from the engine.

Ducati have also created a special ‘Tricolore’ version of this new motorcycle, in the red, white and green of Italy to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the country’s national flag. Along with the the 1199 Panigale Tricolore, there is also a similar spec 1199 Panigale S. Both versions use front and rear Ducati Electronic Suspension (DES) system by Öhlins. The 43mm Öhlins NIX30 forks and the Öhlins TTX36 rear unit are electronically adjustable in compression and rebound, while spring pre-load is manual.

While prices have not been announced yet, we have already met some people who are getting ready to sell their house so they can get their hands on one of these puppies. The 1199 Panigale sets the most extreme benchmark ever and it would be a trememdous effort to find its equal. According to the Italian manufacturer’s website, the 1199 Panigale’s arrival represents one of the most historic moments in Ducati’s incredible Superbike history. We totally agree.