Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition Unveiled

Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, unveiled the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition flanked by Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri of the Ducati World Superbike team this evening in Pebble Beach, California, in advance of the World Superbike races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.

The 1299 Panigale R Final Edition will be the last in the line of Panigale sportbikes, as Ducati is preparing a new supersport bike with a V-4 engine.

“Maybe no other motorcycle manufacturer has bound its name so tightly to an engine as Ducati has to its sports twin-cylinder,” said Domenicali. “Today we’re here to celebrate its history, just as we stand on the cusp of a new era in which our desmodromic system will be used on a new generation of V-4 engines derived from extensive experience in MotoGP. But that’s the future. Today we want to pay homage to a twin-cylinder engine that – thanks to incredible torque and compactness – has seen Ducati win races in every SBK championship it has ever participated in.”

This new R-FE is essentially a Panigale R but with the 1285cc displacement of the 1299 model instead of the R’s 1198cc. It will be progressively numbered but not limited edition, with some significant changes in the engine room.

The FE’s motor is basically a Superleggera motor but with steel cylinder liners and without titanium connecting rods and valves. Additionally, the FE does not have sand-cast cases. Power is rated at the crank at 209 hp, up from the 197 hp found on the 1299 Panigale S (or the 196 hp of the R). Torque numbers increase from 101 lb-ft to 104 lb-ft. Also of note is the full titanium WSBK-style exhaust. Weight drops from a claimed dry weight of 367 lbs. on the S model to 357 lbs. for the FE, which is at least partially due to the up-spec exhaust.