WE PROPERLY love the new Ducati Panigale V4 here at FB Towers. It’s got more power than Donald Trump on a turbo Hayabusa, handles like a dream, and is laden with all the tech you could ever need.
There are two downsides though. Firstly, it’s not on the cheap side, especially in ‘S’ form (which is the one you must get tbf). And secondly, bringing in a new V4 means the end of the old V-twin. Booooh! Yep, while Ducati’s sticking with the 90-degree desmo powerplants for the Monsters and the Multistradas and everything else (including the sweet 959), the litre class is finally losing its last twin-cylinder entrant.
Aprilia dumped the RSV Mille for the RSV4 a decade ago now, and despite bumping the capacity up to about five litres (okay, 1,285cc), Ducati finally decided it couldn’t keep up with the fours any more, and called time on its big twins. And the last 1299 Panigale Final Edition models are being bolted together and shipped out this month.
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The Bologna firm has made 1,299 of them, which is a nice touch, and it’s got a totally outrageous spec sheet. The motor is crammed with titanium rods and valves, special lighter crankshaft and race-style 116mm pistons, the chassis is all Ohlins and Brembo and forged wheels, while the electronics match anything else out there for sophistication. The result is 209bhp, with a dry mass of 168kg (190kg kerb weight), plus what’s not listed on the spec sheet: the brutal headbutting power delivery of the nuttiest twin cylinder engine ever built…
The Panigale 1299 FE, with its lovely tricolore paint and that, is sure to be a future collector’s item. So if you’re wondering what to spend your £30k xmas bonus cheque on, get thee down to the Ducati dealership toot facking sweet, and snap one up before they’re all gone…
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