Ducati Unveils 1199 Panigale Superbike

MILAN, ITALY, NOV. 7 - Ducati unveiled three versions of the 1199 Panigale Superbike, the newest flagship motorcycle from the Borgo Panigale factory, during a press conference in the Teatro Dal Verme the day before the opening of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, and it didn't disappoint.

The 1199 was unveiled by Ducati Pres. Gabriele Del Torchio and Ducati Motor Holding General Manager Claudio Domenicali, who led the design team responsible for the latest iteration of the Ducati Superbike, with help from 2011 World Superbike Champion Carlos Checa and 1000 FIM Cup Champion Davide Giugliano (bottom photo). The Panigale S was first unveiled, after which Domenicali gave a technical briefing. Then he and del Torchio took the cover off the Tricolore S, painted in the red, white, and green to honor the 150th anniversary of the Italian flag. 

Many of the technical details of the engine had been previously revealed, but how they were integrated into the overall machine was a well-kept secret.

The configuration of the 1199 Panigale was long rumored to be similar to the Desmosedici GP11 MotoGP weapon, which turns out to be the case. The Panigale uses the engine as a stressed member with an aluminum subframe/airbox at the front holding the engine to the front end. Domenicali didn't address the MotoGP team's problems with the configuration, nor why they ditched it in favor of a twin-spar aluminum frame. 

He did, however, repeatedly stress the importance of cutting weight, with virtually every component being lightened.

"The engine has been totally re-engineered," Domenicali said. "It is bolted directly on the frame; basically the airbox is the frame. In this case the airbox is in aluminum and it also (serves) as the frame. So this means 4.2 kilos. Now this, well, frame or airbox contains, of course, the airbox and the throttle.

"All the other components around the bike have been redesigned. Everything has been weight reduction-centered." The all aluminum Marzocchi forks are lighter. The Ohlins shock is lighter. The specially designed wheels are lighter. The single-sided swingarm is lighter. Domenicali said that the Panigale makes 195 horsepower with a full wet weight of 188 kgs/414.5, which prompted Domenicali to say, "As far as I know, the 1199 is the lightest bike on the market.

"The main feature, and it gives the name to the motor Superquaddro, means that the bore is much, much bigger," Domenicali said. "So we now have 112 mms; this is the feature number one which we have designed around the new components. Once again the performance has to be very, very close to the four-cylinder engines available to the market right now. So we managed to have an incredible performance; 195 horsepower. This is an incredible feature. It's almost difficult to believe. Don't forget this is a 1200cc twin engine.

"It was a big surprise for us, as well. So, frankly speaking, we said, ‘OK should we say 190, should we say 195 horsepower? We had to state, to declare what our instrument said. This is what usually happens two months after the beginning of production...the hp level goes down. But once again the limit, we have 195 hp. So our engine right now has been tested, or bench tested, the difference is 25 hp versus the same engine installed on the 1198."

The engine is Ducati's first with full ride-by-wire and twin independent 67.5mm throttle bodies.

The most radical departure from the Ducati Superbike heritage is the exhaust system. Instead of twin pipes exiting out from under the seat, the exhaust system snakes around the engine in a two-one-two configuration under the engine, exiting just in front of the 2012 Pirelli Diablo Supercorse 190/55VR17 bi-compound rear tire designed exclusively for Ducati.

"You can see hear the exhaust, the tube style silencers, they are just under the engine," he said. "Now, this was a long discussion concerning the definition of the positioning of the exhaust system, because on the one side we wanted to have a very strong family feeling in comparison to the previous bike, the 1098, I mean the design of the 1098 has been appreciated globally. If you put the silencers under the seat, well, there may be problems in terms of inertia, control, and weight. So we have located them under the engine in an effort to improve the performance of the bike."

The standard 1199 Panigale will retail for $17,995, 22,995 for the "S" version, $23,995 for the
"S" version with ABS and $27,995 for the Panigale Tricolore S. They are expected to be in showrooms early in 2012.