Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario unveiled

As promised, Ducati unveiled a special edition motorcycle at the 2016 World Ducati Week in Misano, Italy. The Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario is a limited edition motorcycle released to celebrate the iconic Italian brand completing 90 years of its existence. The bike was launched by former MotoGP champion and current Ducati test rider Casey Stoner along with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali. The new motorcycle will be limited to just 500 units globally to maintain exclusivity and each bike will have an etched numbered top yoke to signify its limited edition status.

Cosmetically the bike is almost identical to the stock motorcycle barring few visual differentiations. The 1299 Panigale S Anniversario gets draped in a special red and white paint job along with gold forged aluminium Marchesini wheels. It also gets underbelly titanium Akrapovic Racing exhaust as stock fitment. In Ducati’s words the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario is as close as any Ducati offering can get to factory World Superbike Panigale raced by Brit Chaz Davies.

The steering head as been positioned 5mm forward so that the bike has the same geometry of the top-spec Panigale R. For weight savings, the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario features lithium battery, carbon-fibre heelguards, hugger, and a different rear shock unit which has resulted in a reduction of 2.5kg over the stock bike. No changes have been made to the bike on the mechanical front and it sports the same Superquadro L-twin churning out an impressive 207PS of peak power and 145Nm of torque. Power is transferred to the rear-wheel via a 6-speed gearbox with Ducati quick shift and slipper clutch system.

Ducati engineers have added lot of new electronic goodies on the special bike which includes the EVO version of the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) and Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) systems. Another notable addition is the slide control that allows the rider to safely drift the motorcycle even while leaned into a corner. Braking hardware remains unchanged which includes radially mounted Brembo Monobloc M50 4-piston callipers on 330mm twin discs at front and 245mm dia disc at the rear with 2-piston calliper. Cornering ABS is standard fitment on the motorcycle. 

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Suspension duties are handled by Ohlins NIX30 43mm fully adjustable USD fork with electronic compression and rebound damping adjustment with semi-active mode while a full adjustable Ohlins TTX36 unit takes care of the rear. The Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario tips the scale at just 188kg (wet weight) and has been priced at Rs 19.5 lakh in the international market. Given the exclusivity attached to it we don’t see Ducati facing any problem in exhausting the 500 unit run despite the premium pricing and hope a few examples land on Indian soil in near future.