Thanks to Ducati Chile, studio images of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer’s 205 bhp offering of the exotic Ducati 1199 Panigale in an even more exotic form have been leaked on the internet.
Though the Ducati 1199 Panigale Superleggera doesn’t look any different from the regular 1199 Panigale R with Ducati’s MotoGP livery, the changes lie under the skin. With generous use of magnesium on the frame, engine parts and the wheels- with the fairing now constructed out of ultra light carbon fibre material- the Superleggera weight has been disclosed at 166 kgs as against 188 kgs of 1199 Panigale R. Though it’s not clear whether the weight specified is dry or kerb, but most probably it would be a ‘ride-ready’ weight considering the efforts that has been put into shedding weight on the Superleggera. For example even the pistons have been replaced resulting in reduction of a mere 194 grams.
A 205 crank horsepower packed into a 166 kg motorcycle would help Ducati take advantage of the new World Superbike EVO rules and similar to the BMW HP4 would probably be participating in Superstock championships. On the performance front, the Ducati 1199 Panigale Superleggera has been the fastest time ever clocked by the manufacturer on a production Ducati Motorcycle. Ducati’s test rider Alessandro Valia managed to lap the Mugello circuit on the new Superleggera at 1 minute 54.9 seconds. Comparing that to Ducati’s best lap at MotoGP this year stood at 1 minute 48.7 seconds by Andrea Dovizioso at Mugello.
There have been no hints on the pricing, but the Ducati 1199 Panigale Superleggera is expected to cost twice as much as the Ducati 1199 Panigale R. The regular Panigale costing approx US$ 28,000, the Superleggera might just manage to touch or even breach the US$ 60,000 mark and would be only offered to racing teams and customers on Ducati’s VIP list.