With the official unveiling of the Panigale 1299 today at the EICMA show, Ducati has officially cracked the 200-horsepower mark. But before we get to this most extreme Superquadro engine ever, let's start from the beginning.
When Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali was asked about the internal geometry of the Panigale 1199 engine—with specific reference to the rod length of 110.1 mm in relation to its 60.8 mm stroke—he affirmed that he wanted the Panigale to be as compact and well balanced as possible. When I heard a larger-displacement Panigale was in the works, with the extra cubes coming from increased stroke (the bore already was a record-setting 112 mm), I wondered if Domenicali was ready to compromise with even shorter rods to compensate for the extra stroke.
Ah, dead wrong! Domenicali went for an even bigger bore: 116 mm! Together with an unaltered stroke of 60.8 mm, that makes for an actual displacement of 1285 cubic centimeters. That's the way, Claudio, well done! A 116 mm bore is Chevrolet Big Block territory, reminiscent of those Reynolds Aluminum V-8s that powered the legendary Can-Am racers of the 1970s. That memory alone makes my blood churn.
The new Panigale 1299 sets new standards in the superbike fraternity, with a claimed 205 hp at 10,500 rpm and a terrific 106.7 pound-feet of torque at 8,750 rpm. Simply put, there is nothing like that on two wheels, with the possible exception of the new supercharged special from Japan. Valve size is the same as that used in the 1199: 46.8 mm titanium intakes, 38.2 mm steel exhausts. By keeping the same valve and port size of the 1199, Ducati engineers have created a more flexible and torquey powerplant. The higher speed of the intake charge helps disprove the old notion that extremely oversquare engines have poor torque curves.
For more agile steering response, Ducati has given the new Panigale 1299 24 degrees of steering rake, which is a half-degree less than the 1199. Trail is consequently down from 100 to 96 mm. Even more meaningful: The swingarm pivot has been lowered 4 mm, for better geometry to the front sprocket and superior traction. Also, as before, there is a Panigale 1299 and a Panigale 1299 S. The former is fitted with an inverted 50mm Marzocchi fork, a gas-charged unit made of aluminum. The S bumps up the hardware quotient with Öhlins electronically managed semi-active suspension featuring an inverted 43 mm fork. Brakes on both bikes are by Brembo, with M50 calipers acting upon a pair of 330mm front discs. To tame all that power and torque, the electronics suite is the most complete in production today, and the headlights are full LED units.
For the record, the Panigale in its original 1199 displacement remains only as a race version—the Panigale 1199 R. This machine, with technical solutions extracted from the limited-edition 1199 Superleggera, features titanium valves and connecting rods, and its ultra compact crankshaft is a polished piece featuring tungsten inserts for perfect balance. The clamed dry weight of this race Panigale 1199 R is down to 357 pounds. Both the new Panigale 1199 R and 1299 are fitted with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tires, size 120/70ZR-17 front and 200/55ZR-17 rear. The Panigale model line is completed by the 899, which is basically unchanged for 2015.