Deliveries Of The Ducati Panigale V4 R Begin In India

The Ducati Panigale series of motorcycles are extremely special and close to the hearts of both the manufacturer as well as the lucky few who have bought it. The Panigale family of sports bikes has been in production since 2011 and has since then dominated racetracks and scorched quite a few winding mountain roads.

For nearly seven years, Ducati Panigale motorcycles were powered by V-twin engines with different capacities. In 2018 though, Ducati sert hearts racing when it launched the Panigale V4. The Ducati Panigale V4 was breathtaking to look at and had a soundtrack to match.

The sharp, sleek lines with the unique headlamp and DRL setup and the minimalistic yet complicated tail design made it one of the best-looking motorcycles ever. Powering the Italian beauty was a liquid-cooled, 1,103cc, 90-degree V4 engine with a maximum power output of 211bhp at 13,000rpm and a peak torque output of 124Nm at 10,000rpm.

It soon became one of the fastest motorcycles on circuits around the world while those being ridden on streets continued treating the public with its high-revving V4 soundtrack. However, Ducati decided to launch a more extreme version of the motorcycle and out came the Panigale V4 R.

The Ducati Panigale V4 R is basically a World Superbike Championship (WSBK) homologation special edition of the standard V4. Ducati has been an active competitor in the WSBK for years now.

The rules of the competition require that the motorcycle competing in the race series must have had at least a few units sold for road use. The Ducati Panigale V4 R is therefore almost a race bike, for the road.

WSBK rules require all competing motorcycles to have an engine capacity of under 1,000cc. Hence, the Panigale V4 R is powered by a 998cc V4 engine instead. However, engine output is higher than the standard engine.

The engine revs higher, producing 217bhp at 15,250rpm and 112Nm at 11,500rpm. A 6-speed gearbox drives the rear wheel. The motorcycle brings in elements like the MotoGP-style wings, mechanically-adjustable race suspension from Ohlins, aluminium swingarm, etc. It also gets the sophisticated electronics suite from the Ducati Panigale V4 S.

Everything about the Panigale V4 R is designed to make it go faster around a racetrack and it looks like the ones that have been delivered in the Indian market too will be doing just that. The two units of the Ducati Panigale V4 R in India have been delivered through North Star Automotive which is Ducati's dealer in the Delhi-NCR region.

According to a statement by Ducati, both motorcycles will soon see race action at the Buddh International Circuit. Sergi Canovas, Managing Director of Ducati India said, "We are very proud to deliver the first two units of the ultimate Panigale V4 R in India which is a testament to the success the brand has witnessed here. Panigale V4 R is the pinnacle of motorcycling."

"It's the ultimate road - legal race bike, perfect to serve the growing interest of riders who are riding on the racetrack and marks an important chapter in the superbike segment in India. With this, we welcome the riders to the Ducati family and are excited to witness the domination of the new Panigale V4 R at the racetracks in India."

Thoughts On Ducati Panigale V4 R Deliveries In India

The Ducati Panigale V4 R is easily one of the fiercest and litre-class motorcycles out there. It features a powerful engine and a brilliantly-engineered chassis. At Rs 51.8 lakh (ex-showroom), the Panigale V4 R is certainly very expensive. However, the race-riders who would push their machines to the limit day in and day out know the worth of having such a machine.