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• The last V2 Panigale
• Almost 0.92 kilos per horsepower
• The Ducati 1299 R Final Edition – a feast for the eyes
• Crunchier, sharper handling like standard Panigale

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Four valves, water cooling, injection. In this way, Ducati put itself and the V2 back on the road to success at the end of the 80s. What followed were 14 World Superbike titles.

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The crowning glory of this glamorous era: the 1299 R Final Edition.

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Like the first Desmoquattro Duc from 1988, the last of the line of ancestors also appears in the Italian national colors.

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The Ducati Data Analyzer is standard and shows the current lean angle on the display.

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Not limited, but with a consecutive serial number engraved in the upper triple clamp.

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The traction control can be adjusted while driving using the shift paddle. Small flaw: the tightly stretched cable.

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A fast track like Hockenheim is the right playground, our thanks go to Speer-Racing for making the trip.

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Only the finest ingredients, Brembo M50 pliers, 330 mm washers, Ohlins fork and forged wheels.

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Somehow the Panigale’s superbike dampers are quite good, and the purple titanium worm under the seat is a feast for the eyes anyway.

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Obligatory on the racetrack: Fin in front of the chainring as protection in the event of a fall, made of carbon of course.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

Driving report Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition

The last V2 Panigale

Four valves, water cooling, injection – the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition is the crowning glory of a glamorous era. Test editor Andi Bildl drove it at the Hockenheimring.

It seemed an inseparable alliance, Ducati-Superbike and V2. Since Bologna presented the Desmoquattro in the 851 Tricolore in 1988, it has simply belonged together in racing like a champagne shower and a podium. But nothing is as constant as change. So out, over, past. After almost three decades, the performance race has pushed the L-Twin to its limits. Especially when it comes to the sensible size of the individual cubic capacities, the power output and drivability. The last World Cup title in 2011 was also a long time ago. From now on, even more power and drivability is only possible with a V4. So it’s time for the replacement. But not without a worthy finish, without lighting a powerful V2 beacon again. And that means after the extremely expensive and limited carbon racer Superleggera D.ucati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

Almost 0.92 kilos per horsepower

Fired by the infernal Superleggera engine (see MOTORRAD 12/2017). That means titanium connecting rods and valves, light crankshafts with tungsten plugs, racing gears, two-ring pistons. The V2 of the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition basically only has to do without the sand-cast housing, but exhales its hot exhaust gases in accordance with Euro 4 via an Akrapovic all-titanium superbike exhaust system. The chassis is equipped with Ohlins spring elements, forged wheels and some nice carbon details. 209 PS (factory specification) meet 192 kilos (MOTORCYCLE measurement) with a full tank. However, without license plate holders and mirrors, our test machine started the ride in Hockenheim without one.

Almost 0.92 kilos per horsepower, that’s a house number. And that’s how the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition works. She hangs on the gas, attacking the Hockenheimer Parabolica as if stabbed. The twin turns up with a monkey tooth. The automatic gearshift zaps seamlessly and smoothly into one gear after the other. Shortly after halfway through the long left curve, the speedometer brushes the sails. Its display extends to 299, above which it only shows “- – -“, but the twin continues to turn in the sixth. The Ducati pounds towards the hairpin with insane speed and a 40 degree incline. The raised bubble pane of the cladding provides efficient wind protection.

The Ducati 1299 R Final Edition – a feast for the eyes

The bite and controllability of the Brembo anchors are beyond any doubt. The Ohlins fork vehemently opposes the submergence of the front. Out of the hairpin, from 5,000 rpm the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition snaps forward, between 8,000 and 9,000 rpm the power volcano breaks out. A finely intervening wheelie control ensures that it does not constantly make males.

The Ducati 1299 R Final Edition did not get the sophisticated electronics of the Superleggera with two six-axis IMUs. Lean ABS, Evo wheelie and traction control as well as the Ducati Data Analyzer with GPS and lean angle display are also on board.

The engine is a grenade. In general, the development that the Desmoquattro has taken since its birth is breathtaking. From 851 cm³ and 102 hp in the original version from 1988 were 1299 cm³ and 209 hp. 50 percent more displacement, but 100 percent more power, not to mention the lower weight. Any questions? Thanks to the superbike exhaust system on the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition, the power eruption does not lead to an exorbitant roar. The titanium system is also visually stunning. Elbows as thick as an arm spring out of the paneling in shimmering violet tones and wind under the bench. A feast for the eyes.

Crunchier, sharper handling like standard Panigale

In terms of chassis, too, the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition is much closer to a Superleggera than to a 1299 S. The Ohlins suspension elements carefully scan the road surface, their tight basic set-up basically corresponds to the Superbike base Panigle R. Like the Superleggera, the Final is also Edition a little diva when it is accelerated out of the corners with full force. When sprinting through the elongated Parabolica, it can be easily disturbed if handled roughly, and begins to commute. Harshly tackled in harassment when quickly knocking down, she sometimes twitches the handlebars. Push firmly into the notches and shift your weight forward helps to nip this in the bud. Opening the compression stage on the fork and shock absorber relatively wide also calms the racing diva.

A standard Panigale is more forgiving. But not nearly as agile as the Ducati 1299 R Final Edition. The low weight, but especially the light forged wheels, give the Signorina a much crisper, sharper handling. All of this moves you a good bit further in the direction of a racing motorcycle. What is only logical in the end, closes the circle again. Because that was exactly the goal around 30 years ago when Ducati let the water-cooled Desmoquattro loose on the opponents: It should be a force on the racetrack, at which the opponents would grind their teeth. In this respect, the Final Edition marks a worthy end to the glamorous era of the Ducati Superbike Twins, who have left their defining stamp on racing for almost three decades. It may well be that the V4 that follows it will be able to do a lot better, but we will miss the hard, dry punch of the V2.

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