WHILE the DUCATI ACQUISITION BECOMES A THING, THE ITALIAN BRAND IS CLOSE TO UNVEIL THE PANIGALE FINAL EDITION AND IS TESTING A GROUNDBREAKING V-4 SUPERBIKE

An Easy ride?
As reported by Reuters, rumors of Ducati acquisition by Harley Davidson from Audi (for roughly 1.5 billions) are consistent.
And the while the Italian firm is going to show (on July 7th will in Laguna Seca) the Panigale Final Edition...there is the groundbreaking evidence of the 2018 Ducati V-4 superbike (Motor News World anticipated).
As reported by Reuters, rumors of Ducati acquisition by Harley Davidson from Audi (for roughly 1.5 billions) are consistent.
And the while the Italian firm is going to show (on July 7th will in Laguna Seca) the Panigale Final Edition...there is the groundbreaking evidence of the 2018 Ducati V-4 superbike (Motor News World anticipated).
ducati panigale 1299 final edition gallery
ducati v-4
Effectiveness & Beauty
The aestetics appear thankfully an evolution of the current Panigale design with headlamps integrated in the air scopes, plain lines, compacntess and the exhaust "hidden" under the engine (ideally in line with the fairings).
The test bike photographed shows a traditional single sided swingarm (because motorbikes, even superbikes, need to be attractive after all).
Deltabox? No thanks
The aluminium frame is short - therefore light - and is attached to the cylinder heads only, reminiscent of that of the Desmosedici that brought the MotoGP world title to Bologna.
There is no connection between the front frame and the rear suspension.
Despite the exhaust pipes cumbersome presence, the rear shock gets a vertical and more central layout (more effective, according to some phisics than the Panigale's lateral one.)
V-4 vs L-4
The engine shows 90 degrees between the cylynders but has been rotated in order to ber more compact. No more (almost) horizintal and vertical cylynders That represented the Ducati traditional "L" layout.
Schedule
The brand new "V-4 Panigale" will hit the market in 2018, while debut on WSBK race tracks is scheduled for 2019.