Ducati the end of a month-long campaign of Introducing new models by presenting the 2023 Panigale V4 SP2. Developed with racetrack in mind, it’s an evolution of the Panigale V4, which benefits from many of the upgrades dropped from the company’s racing program.
“SP” stands for Sport Production, and the engineers who made it Panigale V4 deserves the initials by improving motorcycle aerodynamics, ergonomics, engine, chassis and electronics. Power comes from a 1.1-liter Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, tuned to develop 210 horsepower at 12,500 rpm and 91 pound-feet of torque at 11,100 rpm. Derived from the company’s MotoGP program, the mill features gear-specific torque curves and four power modes called Full, High, Medium, and Low, respectively. Full and Low are new.
210 horsepower is impressive, especially considering the top-of-the-line V4 SP2 weighs in at 381 pounds. Drivers can also order an optional titanium exhaust system developed by Akrapovič. It increases horsepower and torque to 228 and 97, and it reduced the SP2’s weight to 370 pounds. In other words, in this configuration, the V4 SP2 weighs 75 pounds more than Ford’s 5.0 liter Coyote V8 engine.
Ducati has fitted the transmission with a dry clutch disc and the final transmission is lighter. The electronically controlled suspension comes from Öhlins, brake supplied by Brembo, and 5 spoke carbon fiber wheels are about three pounds lighter than comparable forged units.
Most visual changes are made to improve function rather than appearance. For example, the tips of the brake and clutch levers are ground to reduce air resistance. The brushed aluminum fuel tank is exposed and the SP2 is available only in flat black with red accents.
Technology is also part of the package. Ducati notes that the instrument cluster borrows a display mode called “Track Evo” from MotoGP motorcycles. When this mode is activated, the tachometer moves to the top of the screen, the driver aids grouped to the right of it so the driver can see exactly what’s going on. at any given time and race-specific information (such as speed and number of laps completed) is presented on the left. Each SP2 also comes with a GPS module includes lap timer and Ducati Data Analyzer, sounds like Chevrolet’s Performance data logger. It allows users to record parameters while racing to analyze them later.
Ducati dealers across the US will begin taking orders for the 2023 Panigale V4 SP2 from the second half of 2022, and deliveries will begin before the end of the year. The price is set at $39,500. Expensive? Just a little, yes: for context, the Panigale V4 has a base price of $23,295. However, getting this level of performance and hybrid technology in a car will require spending at least six figures.
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