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Ducati Panigale V4 – What’s More Than A Name?

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Over the long weekend, we got our first real glimpse of Ducati’s new V4 superbike – just a few days ahead of the company’s debut of its new V4 engine, which has been named the Desmosedici Stradale.

This is not the name of Ducati’s new superbike, as some outlets have been reporting, instead we learned the name of the actual motorcycle, at the same time the spy photo dropped. It will be called the Ducati Panigale V4.

Though the letters are blurry, and the photo is disappointing of low-quality, just knowing this new superbike’s name tells us a great deal about Ducati’s new superbike program, and where the brand is headed for the future.

When spy photos of the Panigale V4 first debuted, it was obvious that the machine captured by photographers took a number of visual cues from its predecessor.

This wasn’t a test mule in sheep’s clothing however, with there being enough key differences in the bodywork shape for it to be obvious that Ducati was keeping the general look and feel of the Panigale for its V4 successor.

Now with Ducati recycling the Panigale name, it is clear that the Bologna factory isn’t quite ready to do away with its namesake. This is an interesting development for the Italian brand.

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Ducati Panigale V4 Spotted in Photo

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Later this week, Ducati will debut its Desmosedici Stradale engine, the new 90° V4 engine that will power Ducati’s next superbike (amongst other models). To see Ducati’s next superbike though, we’ll have to wait until November’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy…or will we?

This photo is going around the internet, purporting to show the new “Panigale V4” superbike. The photo looks legit, and looks very similar to the spy photos that we have seen of the Ducati’s new superbike machine.

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Ducati V4 Superbike Caught Testing Again

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In less than a week’s time, we will get all the details about Ducati’s new V4 engine, named the Desmosedici Stradale, but details about Ducati’s V4 superbike model continue to come in as well.

Today, we have another video of the V4 superbike testing. This time, the venue appears to be Mugello, and the video quality is high enough that we can clearly see that the machine in question is the V4 superbike in its testing garb.

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Ducati’s New V4 Engine Named “Desmosedici Stradale”

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In one week’s time, Ducati will unveil its new V4 engine, which will power the next-generation of the Italian company’s superbikes and other high-powered motorcycles.

Set to debut the Thursday before the San Marino GP round for MotoGP, Ducati has begun teasing us some information, the first of which is the new motor’s name, the Desmosedici Stradale.

True to Ducati naming conventions, the name of the engine literally means what it is, a road-going version of the Desmosedici engine that powers Bologna’s MotoGP project.

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Come Listen to the Ducati V4 Superbike Sing

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Our Belgian friends at MaxxMoto continue to have the pulse on the upcoming Ducati V4 Superbike, posting today what appears to be th first sounds of the four-cylinder machine as it’s being ridden around a test track.

The sound of the V4 engine can be clearly distinguished from that of Ducati’s v-twin platform, with the bike sounding very similar to the Aprilia RSV4 – a nod that Ducati will be using a “big bang” or “long bang” cylinder firing order, rather than a “screamer” or “twin pulse” arrangement.

We do know that Ducati’s V4 will be a hybrid design of Superquadro and Desmosedici engine designs, and it will of course feature desmodromic valve technology. 

We expect to get more details about the V4 superbike’s engine technology at a media event in two weeks’ time (the Thursday before the San Marino GP at the Misano World Circuit), and of course we expect the bike itself to debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy.

Until then, keep checking back to Asphalt & Rubber for the latest news on Ducati’s V4 superbike project.

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Ducati Desmosedici RR, The Original Ducati V4 Superbike

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Just in case you have been living under a rock, or been the victim of a massive coma, Ducati is set to debut a new superbike with a V4 engine. The news is a pretty big deal in Ducati circles – the Italian brand finally abandoning the v-twin format for its superbike offering.

Although…this isn’t the first Ducati superbike with a V4 engine, nor is Ducati unfamiliar with making four-cylinder machines.

Since 2003, Ducati has been using a V4 engine to power its MotoGP program, starting first with a “twin pulse” engine design, which operated essentially by having two v-twin engines mated together, and firing in near-unison.

Ducati Corse now uses a “big bang” firing for its MotoGP program. The separation between the engine pulses helps to translate the power from the engine, through the tire, and down to the pavement.

The engine design has also become a GP favorite, with Honda switching from a “screamer” format to a “big bang” format for the 2017, and KTM Racing basing its new MotoGP program around a “big bang” V4 engine design as well.

All of this work on the racing side of Ducati’s Bologna factory ultimately lead to the production of a street model, the Ducati Desmosedici RR. Not a race bike with lights, like we have seen with the Honda RC213V-S, the Desmosedici RR was an all new design that shared very few parts with its racing counterpart.

A limited edition machine, the Ducati Desmosedici RR was bred as an exclusive street bike, with obvious inspirations coming from the MotoGP machine, including its “twin pulse” firing order.

What does this all have to do with the here and now though? Ducati is about to repeat the process, albeit with a superbike that is more fit for mass production.

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Ducati V4 Superbike to Debut in September?

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Italian media is reporting an invitation to a Ducati event at the Misano World Circuit, the Thursday before the MotoGP race weekend held on the Adriatic Coast.

The event has surely something to do with Ducati’s new V4 superbike, with Ducati claiming it will be “the sound of a new era” for the Italian manufacturer.

That sound surely will be of the new V4 powerplant, which will not only replace the company’s iconic v-twin superbike lineup, but also power future large-displacement sport bikes from Ducati – something Claudio Domenicali told Asphalt & Rubber at the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition launch.

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Ducati V4 Superbike Spotted Again, More Details Revealed

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For the second time in a week, we have spy photos of the Ducati V4 superbike. Like before, the new superbike model is still in its unfinished state, with testing equipment strapped to its frame and bodywork.

Even in its pre-production state though, the new V4 machine reveals some of its secrets, the most notable of which is its frame/chassis design. It also teases us that the V4 model will look very similar to its predecessor.

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First Images of the Ducati V4 Superbike Appear

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We should have officially named this week Ducati Week, because the Italian brand can’t seem to stay out of the headlines. First, it was the announcement that the “Final Edition” of the Ducati 1299 Panigale would debut at Laguna Seca (the details of which leaked yesterday, too).

Then, it was news that Harley-Davidson might become the owner of Ducati Motor Holding, after news of Ducati’s possible divestiture from the Volkswagen Group has been swirling in business circles for the better part of the past few months.

And now, we have what look like the first photos of Ducati’s V4 superbike project, courtesy of our Belgian friends at MaxxMoto.

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