All-new Ducati Panigale V4 launched in India at Rs 20.53 lakh

Ducati India has finally launched the much anticipated all-new Panigale V4 in India. The Italian motorcycle manufacturer has priced the Panigale V4 at Rs 20.53 lakh while the V4 S is available at Rs 25.29 lakh, prices ex-showroom. Ducati has allotted 20 units for India, where the first two customers will get access to the Ducati Riding Experience racetrack course that will be held in June 2018 in Malaysia at the Sepang MotoGP circuit. The deliveries of the Panigale V4 will commence in India from July 2018 onwards.

The 2018 Ducati V4 S proved easy to potted around the Valencia circuit on while I figued out the track layout. The 100Nm from 7,000rpm onwards arrive smoothly and makes it easy to ride. In India though, chances are that you'll find the V4 very hot to trundle about on outside the racetrack

"This is the closest enthusiasts can get to owning a MotoGP prototype that is built for both excellent on-track performance and outstanding on-road rideability. We have been overwhelmed with enquiries since the announcement at EICMA and as a result have opened bookings six months before the motorcycle even arrives in India" said Sergi Canovas, Managing Director, Ducati India.

Powering the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 is the new Desmosedici Stradale V4 as the name suggests, is a 4-cylinder and is very similar to the MotoGP engine. Ducati has kept the 81mm bore but increased the swept volume to make it a 1100cc to help with more road-going torque. The new engine makes 214PS at 13,000rpm and 124Nm of torque between 8,750rpm to 12,250rpm.

The engine can rev up to 14,000rpm and Ducati says that it doesn't need a counter balancer because of the 90-degree V-angle. Ducati head Claudio Domenicali commented that while the company loves their V-twin engines, the reason for the change in size is to extract more power from the twins. For this they had to increase the bore which resulted in running out of room in the chassis, so the new V4 came into picture. He also added that the shape of the firing order of the new V4 has been kept very similar to the twin-cylinders to retain some of the same experience. He also specified that this engine is lighter than the older twin-cylinder unit.

The silhouette might look like the old Panigale but the motorcycle is completely new. The 2018 Ducati also has hidden features. Like a heat extractor built into the fairing - see the little scoop on the side on the inner layer of the side fairing

Shumi has already ridden the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4 on the Valencia MotoGP circuit. He mentioned "This (2018 Ducati Panigale V4) is an incredibly friendly motorcycle for something with this much power. And that underlines what a well-rounded performance motorcycle Ducati has gone and made!". Read his detailed first review here.

Also read,

All-new Ducati Panigale V4: How it was made?

All-new Ducati Panigale V4: What's inside?

All-new Ducati Panigale V4: From factory to you