V4S with V4R frame parts, posh paint, slick bolt-ons, limited to 500 copies, number 5 sold to help support late Ducati racer Carlin Dunne’s family.
We announced this bike the other day, and Ducati has released all the info on it at the Laguna Seca WSB round this weekend. It’s a very special version of the Panigale V4, released to mark 25 years since the evocative 916 Superbike first appeared.
The base is a V4S with the 1,103cc engine, rather than the mega-exotic 999cc V4R. But you do get a variant of the V4R frame, with extra machining on the sides. The engine gets a new dry slipper clutch with open carbon fibre covers, so you get the mythical 916 tinkle at idle (hopefully), while a full titanium Akrapovic exhaust system cuts half a kilo from the mass.
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On the chassis front, there are lush forged magnesium Marchesini wheels, to which we issue a thumbs-up, and a smattering of carbon and billet aluminium bolt-ons. The bike also gets the very best electronic rider aids, some snatched from the V4R.
The biggest mod is the paint scheme though, which attempts to sum up all of the various 916 versions, from the original Biposto through to the 998 Final Edition, and all the race bikes inbetween too. This sort of thing is in the eye of the beholder of course, but I’m not convinced by it. It’s a bit of a mishmash and the black panels on the front fairing and bellypan should be exposed carbon fibre in my world.
We imagine they’ll sell every one even at the €41,900 RRP, though there won’t be many parking up at Box Hill or the Ponderosa Cafe we imagine – this is a proper collector’s item destined for an easy life under a dust sheet. One poignant detail is that number five of the 500 limited editions will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to Carlin Dunne’s family. The US racer died in a crash last month at Pikes Peak while riding the prototype V4 Streetfighter, and this is a fitting move from Ducati.
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