2018 DUCATI 1299 SUPERLEGGERA
FIRST TEST
P104
quick enough on the draw after
its Milan Show debut to put a
deposit down, you lost out. All
500 bikes are already spoken
for, netting the VW/Audi-owned
Italian manufacturer a cool 45
million of extra revenue, as well
as untold kudos for producing
what is, even more so than its
1199 Superleggera sister that
Ducati produced three years
ago in 2014, most assuredly the
finest street-legal motorcycle I've
yet had the privilege of riding.
Yet the 1299 Superleggera
also marks a significant land-
mark in Ducati history, beyond
its sheer unmatched excellence
in conception and execution.
For with the advent next year
of Ducati's first V-4 Superbike,
this is the last of the line of the
Italian firm's series of desmo
V-twin street-legal race bike; the
ultimate evolution of this unique
format which has so far garnered
14 World Superbike riders titles
and 15 manufacturers crowns,
in winning 329 races to date in
the past 30 seasons. It's a line
that began in 1974 with the debut
of the green-frame 750SS, of
which just 401 examples were
ever made as a pretty close
replica of Paul Smart's Imola
200-winning factory desmo V-
twin, just as the new Ducati 1299
Superleggera is to the factory
F17 Superbikes being raced
this season by Chaz Davies and
Marco Melandri. Actually, it's
even better than them chassis-
wise, with a carbon fiber semi-
monocoque frame structure that
saves 3.7 pounds in weight over
the racer's heavier aluminum
equivalent, and it's pretty close
in engine performance, too, with
a claimed 215 bhp/158.1 kW on
tap at 11,000 rpm, 15 bhp more
than the Panigale R currently
leading the FIM Superstock
series.
Having begun my racing
career back in the mists of time
as one of the 401 lucky own-
Ducati's new 1299 Superleggera
is the fastest and most powerful
production twin-cylinder street
bike yet offered for sale.
