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Panigale R Final Edition

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As far as venues go, there might not be a better place on Earth to launch a new motorcycle than Pebble Beach, California – that is, if you are into the whole breath-taking view sort of thing.

The party of course was for Ducati’s last v-twin superbike, the aptly named Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition, which is part Superleggera, part road bike, and part spaghetti dinner.

Clad in a the an Italian tricolore livery, the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition puts out a potent 209hp, and features some of the best pieces of Ducati’s v-twin superbike lineage – part of a long goodbye to the desmodromic v-twin platform.

Not a limited edition bike, but instead a numbered edition machine, Ducati plans on making the Panigale R Final Edition models for as long as there is consumer demand for the superbike (and while there are enough numbers to count them by).

For American Ducatisti, owning one will mean a $40,000 commitment, which isn’t such a lofty price tag, if you considered its half the cost of the carbon-fiber-everything Ducati 1299 Superleggera.

Ducati has finally released its Final Edition of the Ducati 1299 Panigale superbike, and the aptly named Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition packs a punch.

Sharing engine parts with the Ducati 1299 Superleggera (sans its aluminum sleeved engine cylinders and sand-cast casings), the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition makes 209hp on Ducati’s chassis dynamometer, which should be a comparable figure to the Superleggera, as the latter has power figures quoted from an engine dyno.

Though they may produce similar power figures, the Final Edition Panigale does not quite take the Superleggera’s obsessiveness with weight to the same level, using more traditional fasteners and materials for its design. That is to say, it is without all the carbon fiber goodness found on the SL, including its chassis.

As such, the FE tips the scales at 419 lbs wet at the curb. For those keeping score, that mass is just a pound lighter than the Ducati 1299 Panigale S; and 13 lbs heavier than the Ducati Panigale R, which uses the 1199 motor.

Priced at $40,000 for the US market though, this “half a Superleggera” still packs a considerable punch, and of course it holds the distinction of being the last of Ducati’s v-twin superbikes…for the foreseeable future at least.

In a couple hours, we will get our first glimpse at what for the foreseeable future will be the final v-twin superbike from Ducati, but thanks to a Ducati dealership posting photos of the machine on Facebook (and our friends at MaxxMoto spotting them), we get an early look at the machine.

As expected, the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition borrows heavily from the Ducati 1299 Superleggera (we understand that the motors share more than a few pieces from the “go fast” parts bin), and the exhaust is of the World Superbike inspired undertail design.

Also noticeable from the photos is the obvious tricolore design, that sees the Panigale R Final Edition in the green, white, and white of the Italian flag – final nod to the Italian company’s history with v-twin superbikes.

It’s official, the folks in Bologna are about to launch the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition, the name being confirmed in emission filings made to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) this week.

The CARB document confirms a couple items for us (most notably the name of the final v-twin superbike), but it also raises some interesting questions.

For instance, the CARB document shows that the “FE” Panigale will have a 1285cc engine, just like the rest of the Ducati 1299 Panigale lineup, yet the bike will still carry the “R” badge, which is usually reserved for Ducati’s race homologation machine.