Bill Russell. Lennox Lewis. John Elway. Peyton Manning.
The list of legends who’ve walked away at the top of their game is not a long one.
But you can add Ducati to the list, as they’re closing out a decades-long run of legendary V2 racing bikes with the properly christened Panigale R Final Edition.
Rocking a 209-HP Superquadro 1299 engine with racing components, the last of the Italian marque’s twin cylinders is dressed in a fitting red, white and green suit that makes the street-legal superbike look just as capable of competing for a track championship (which, of course, it could).
Tipping the scales just south of a featherweight 400 pounds, the final V2 has an all-titanium exhaust system and an on-board electronics package that includes ABS cornering, Ducati wheelie control and Ducati traction control, all in either Race, Sport, Wet or Custom mode.
“Maybe no other motorcycle manufacturer has bound its name so tightly to an engine as Ducati has to its sports twin-cylinder,” Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali said at the bike’s unveiling. “We want to pay homage to a twin-cylinder engine that — thanks to incredible torque and compactness — has seen Ducati win races in every SBK championship it has participated in.”
We’re still waiting on pricing for the built-in-Bologna beauty, but given it’s the last of its kind and each one is individually numbered, we’re anticipating it will cost a simoleon … or 40,000.
To find out, bid buona giornata to the Ducati dealer nearest you.
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