Since its launch, Ducati’s beautiful Panigale has been treated to a vast array of styling experiments and bastardisations. Many are concepts conjured up on the screens of Photoshop warriors, others make it to the real world, but everything from off-road mules to cafe racers have been conceived in recent years .
Pictured above is the work of Gannet Design’s Ulfert Janssen (you may recall the Swiss designer’s take on the Superleggera at the end of 2013). “It’s a mix of classic cafe racer proportion and a modern mono place street fighter, hence Cafe Fighter.” reckons Ulfert. “The tank is kept from the original Panigale and is given a raw brushed finish. The tank is partly covered by a hugging design element, which gives the bike a very different line.”
As if the Panigale wasn’t light enough, an onslaught of carbon fibre is used and the rear-end gets a firm chopping – you wouldn’t want to slide off the back during a wonky wheelie. The exaggerated underbelly is there to aid stability: something the 1199 certainly needs…
Check out the Gannet website for more funky lines