DUCATI PANIGALE V4R
In our dark moments, we wonder if we’ve already seen the best of petrol-powered bike engines. With engineers and designers set to turn their attention fully to batteries and electric motors in five or six years’ time, have they already given up on the powerplants we all love? On the face of it, the new Panigale V4R suggests not: the headline peak power figure is a frankly jaw-dropping 240.5bhp, up from the 231bhp claimed last year (both with the optional Ducati Performance race exhaust system fitted). But 3.5bhp of that new figure comes from the use of a unique new race oil developed by Shell with Ducati, which cuts friction by 10% and adds the last gobbets of grunt to the final output.
The main engine mods behind the power boost are at the top end: 5mm shorter intake trumpets, more aggressive cams, and new two-ring forged race pistons, which are 5g lighter each, and have a DLC diamond-like carbon coating on the skirts to further cut friction. The titanium con rods are also new, modified with a
drilling down their length to feed pressurised oil from the big end bearings to the small ends. That’s probably more about improving durability and reliability than a pure performance change, but it will let the engineers push combustion pressures and revs up that last little bit without needing to prescribe a change of rods, gudgeon pins and pistons every 1500 miles…
Away from the engine, the other mods are minor. Tweaks to the chassis include a reshaped fuel tank for better grip in corners and an extra litre of gas, the steering geometry is slightly modified with a
20mm higher rear ride height, and the Öhlins
suspension has a tad more travel. Bodywork gets thinner aero-wings and new cooling ducts for the engine and (curiously) the quickshifter sensor. Wet weight is an impressive 193.5kg stock, and the titanium Akrapovic race pipe takes 5kg off that for a 188.5kg weight.
The V4R won WSBK this year under Alvaro Bautista, and though the stock factory bike isn’t the be all and end all of a race effort, the changes here won’t do any harm to the 2023 campaign. Price is £38,995: form an orderly queue.