Ducati has no plans of bidding adieu to the 1299 Panigale immediately

If you thought the arrival of the stunning new Ducati Panigale V4 has sounded the death knell for the 1299 Panigale, you are wrong. Ducati has no plans of retiring the bike, not immediately at least. While previous iterations of the 1299 Panigale were only Euro3 compliant, the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition was launched as a Euro4 compliant model which means Ducati can sell the motorcycle till Euro5 regulations come into effect in 2020.

The 1299 Panigale R Final Edition is a Euro4 compliant motorcycle and Ducati intends to continue selling it till 2020

The Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition is on sale in India as well and is currently its flagship superbike for the Indian market. According to MCN, the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition continues to get assembled alongside the new Panigale V4 at the Borgo Panigale factory in Italy, and Ducati clearly does not intend at stopping its production. In fact the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition will continue to be a more affordable option for somebody wanting a full-blooded superbike from Ducati. One of the biggest reasons behind the same is the fact the new V4 engine is far more expensive to build as compared to the 1299 Panigale's V-twin and also takes more time to assemble.

Ducati will thus continue manufacturing and selling the V-twin engined 1299 Panigale, at least until the 2020 Euro5 cut-off. Of course, that's besides the fact that the smaller 959 Panigale will continue to be a part of Ducati's sportsbike line-up as a V-twin engined machine. Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali was also quoted as saying that the brand has no immediate plans of building a middleweight V4 for smaller machines like the 959 Panigale given that the V4 is very expensive to build, apart from the V-twin still having a lot of potential, for smaller bikes at least.

The 2018 Ducati 959 Panigale Corse gets Ohlins suspension and an Akrapovic exhaust as standard

With that said, we're keen on the 2018 Ducati 959 Panigale Corse showcased at the Milan Motor Show this year coming to India soon. The 2018 Ducati 959 Panigale comes equipped with higher-specced Ohlins NIX30 forks up front and TTX46 monoshock at the rear, Akrapovic silencers and a snazzy looking paintjob.