The limited edition Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario has been revealed at World Ducati Week 2016 by company CEO Claudio Domenicali and Casey Stoner. Just 500 motorcycles will be made to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, and it’s tricked out with race-inspired paint and a lot of special features.
The first thing to make the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario stand out is the look of the special edition. The paint is inspired by the famous racing teams with a livery sing white, black and the traditional Ducati Red, plus gold wheels.
You’ll also be reminded you’re on something special with the top triple clamp, which is laser-etched with the unique production number of each bike. Both the triple clamp and steering head inserts are machined from solid aluminium alloy.
But when you create a limited edition Ducati, it can’t just be about looks. For starters, the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario has steering head inserts which move the front wheel forwards by 5 millimetres. That gives the same geometry as the Panigale R for sharp steering.
The Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario has also been treated to a bit of a diet. Switching to a light lithium battery, and lots of carbon fibre mean a saving of 2.5 kg. That includes switching the heel guards, rear mudguard and shock absorber cover to carbon.
All rather trick. But there’s plenty more that you won’t be able to see – but you’ll notice if you’re lucky enough to ride an Anniversario. The electronics include an all-new Ducati Traction Control and Ducati Wheelie Control EVO. The traction control works with a Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit to measure your lean angle and give the right amount of rear tyre slip. It works by altering the spark advance, fuel injection, and also now the throttle body butterfly valves, to try and give control that’s smooth as well as consistent with whatever level of help you choose. We’re not sure Casey Stoner is giving the best demonstration of the Wheel Control EVO system though…
The result should mean you don’t get the problem of slip, then grip, then slip, then grip. But if you happen to have the talent of a factory Ducati racer, you can also pick a level 1 setting which allows you to go beyond the normal traction control limit to give you rear-wheel steering – with active traction control to help you avoid going that bit too far. For data fans, here’s a handy graph showing what should happen with the new traction control system.
You also benefit from Borsch Cornering ABS and a Ducati Quick Shift. The Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario has Race, Sport and Wet riding modes, which are displayed on the Thin Film Transistor display.
Underneath all of that is the twin-cylinder 1285cc, and 205hp Superquadro engine, with Engine Brake Control to offer even more help keeping your rare Ducati on two wheels if you’re turning in sharply and need help keeping things stable and relatively upright.
More technical names also help your riding with Ducati Electronic Suspension, and Ohlins Smart EC. The intelligent Ohlins system looks at bike data and then uses stepper motors to dynamically adjust your suspension set-up even while you’re riding! So less time fiddling about with spanners to try and guess what your settings should be, and more time actually riding, which can’t be a bad thing.
On top of the Panigale die cast aluminium monocoque frame there are more sporty bits. Would Sir or Madam care for a racing kit? If so, there’s a rather lovely Akrapovic Racing exhaust in titanium, billet aluminium mirror blockoff plates and even a cover to hide the hole when you take your number plate off for track days.
You’ll also be supplied with the handy battery charger when the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario becomes available from Ducati dealers in the second half of July 2016 (depending on which country you’re in).
You’re obviously going to have to be fairly wealthy (and quick) to bag one of the 500 Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario bikes being made.
But there are always upsides, even if you can’t quite stretch to a special edition. First up is the fact that the EVO traction control and wheelie systems are sure to make their way down the range in the near future. And given that many of the features are bolt-on extras and relatively subtle, you could build a reasonably close replica without too much hassle.
As with anything requiring a serious investment, it’s always the finer details that make the real difference…
It also helps that the standard Ducati Panigale is a fairly gorgeous looking motorcycle anyway. It’d take some serious effort to create a special edition that wasn’t worth drooling over…
Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario Gallery:
There are so many nice shots of the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario that we had to put them in a gallery rather than having all of them full size as they deserve. Otherwise the bike will have sold out of all 500 editions before this page finishes loading…
The result of all of this is a 205hp Ducati Panigale which produces 106.7 lb-ft of torque, and has a dry weight of 164kg (wet weight 188kg). We didn’t even mention the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tyres, the Brembo brakes, or the 24 month unlimited mileage warranty and 7,500 mile service intervals.
There’s no price announced for the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario – as always, the rule of thumb is probably that if you have to ask, you won’t be able to afford. Doesn’t mean we can’t lust after it, though…
Leave a Reply