First Look: 2018 Ducati 959 Panigale Corse
It's Now the Biggest Superquadro
This one should go some way in comforting the bereaved mourning the passing of the Panigale 1299. Though this smaller L-Twin is but a measly 955cc, the 2018 Ducati 959 Panigale Corse arrives rated at 150 hp @ 10,500 rpm and 75 pound-feet of torque @ 9,000 rpm. Which is really quite a bit more than enough for most people, all in a package Ducati says weighs 435 pounds (wet, with a 90% fuel load). This special Corse model also gets suspension by Öhlins, some street-legal Ducati Performance Akrapovič titanium silencers, a lightweight lithium-ion battery, and a MotoGP-inspired matte paint scheme. Ducati says the 959 Panigale Corse is ready to race, (Isn’t that KTM‘s line?) but the valve clearances still only need to be checked every 15,000 miles.
- Special racing color scheme with black wheel rims
Equipment
- Superquadro 955cc V-twin engine
- Euro 4 compliant
- Servo-assisted slipper clutch
- 43mm multi-adjustable titanium-nitride-treated Öhlins NIX30 fork
- Multi-adjustable Öhlins TTX36 shock absorber
- Öhlins adjustable steering damper
- Lithium-ion battery
- Ducati Performance street legal double exhaust in titanium by Akrapovič
Comments
Join the conversation
Is the shifter both up and down? Does the ABS have lean-angle sensitivity? If not, boo Ducati. Give the baby Pani the techno-love it deserves! ... And don’t make us mere mortals have to buy 200-plus unuseable bhp just to get very useable features like top notch lean angle-sensitive ABS, TC, and up/down QS.
I am so pleased that it’s taken Ducati 3+ years to add an Ohlins-specced option to the 959 line. Molto bene, y’all.