2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R Unveiled At EICMA

How does a claimed 221 hp sound to you?

We knew it was coming, but now that the cover has been taken off the 2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R, all we can say is wow! Take the WSBK-legal displacement 998 cc Desmosedici Stradale R engine, attach frame sections to both ends to mount top-shelf Öhlins suspension, and wrap the whole package in a Ducati Corse aerodynamics package, and you’ve got a superbike that is ready to take on the world.

Desmosedici Stradale R engine

As you would expect, the Desmosedici Stradale R engine is a 90° V4. The cylinders are banked 42° rearward from horizontal for optimal packaging. The Twin Pulse firing order, which has the two left-hand cylinders fire closely together with the right-hand cylinders doing the same, will maintain the V-Twin-like sound that Ducati. The new forged steel, counter-rotating crankshaft is 1,100 grams lighter than on the Desmosedici Stradale, retains the 70° crank pin offset, and is mounted on brass bushings.

Molded aluminum pistons feature a single compression ring and an oil ring, which utilizes what Ducati calls “‘box in box’ technology: this contains both skirt height and below-chamber thickness, helping to reduce attrition and inertial loads while maintaining the necessary strength and stiffness.” Sliding those pistons in their cylinder bores are titanium connecting rods – each of which is 100 g lighter than the steel ones found in the standard Stradale. While the cylinder bores remain 81 mm, the stroke is bumped to 48.4 mm, yielding a 998 cc displacement. Compression ratio is a lofty 14:1.

Ducati tells us that the four camshafts feature dedicated profiles that operate the 34 mm titanium intake valves and the 27.5 mm steel exhaust valves with an increased lift. The valves themselves feature “titanium half-cones,” a feature typically only used by builders on racing machinery. The larger intake ducts in the cylinder heads have benefitted from fluid dynamic design.

Feeding those heads are oval throttle bodies that are the equivalent of 56 mm diameter units – an increase of 4 mm from the Stradale. Variable-height air intake horns further tune the airflow for engine conditions across a broader rpm range. Additionally, the atmosphere is cleaned by a free-flowing Sprintfilter.

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