Ducati Superleggera V4 First Look
Rennie Scaysbrook | February 6, 2020
Ducati has taken the wraps off the stunning all carbon fiber Superleggera V4—the lightest, most powerful Ducati street superbike ever created.
Think of the Ducati Superleggera V4 as a more extreme version of the already plainly bonkers V4 R that we tested here last year. Every structural part is made from carbon fiber—chassis, swingarm, wheels and all-new bodywork that takes its colors from Andrea Dovizioso’s 2019 MotoGP weapon.
The Superleggera weighs a claimed 350 lb dry, which is substantially lighter than the 384 lb-dry Panigale V4 S. And when you fit the Akrapovic racing titanium exhaust, that number drops to an eye-watering 335 lb-dry.
The Superleggera V4 pumps out a claimed 220 hp, which gets boosted to 234 hp when the exhaust is fitted as part of the Ducati Racing Kit you can pick up as an accessory. The motor is swiped from the V4 R in the 998 cc Desmosedici Stradale unit, with five bikes per day being delivered to customers as of June 2020.
The hardware is absolutely top-notch—Ohlins gas-charged forks and race-spec shock with titanium spring, Brembo Stylema R calipers, all the electronic rider aids Ducati can muster from Traction to Wheelie to Slide to Rear Wheel Lift control, and winglets that produce a forceful 110 lb of downforce 167 mph, a claimed 44 lb more than the V4 S.
The Ducati Superleggera V4 almost looks better naked…
Limited to just 500 units worldwide, the Ducati Superleggera V4 customers will also be given the chance to spin a few laps on the same V4 R that Chaz Davies and Scott Redding will use in the 2020 World Superbike Championship as part of the “SBK Experience” package. Even better, 30 of the 500 will be selected to test ride the 2020 Desmosedici MotoGP machine as ridden by Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci. As if having a Superleggera V4 wasn’t enough…
You can expect the Ducati Superleggera V4 to cost somewhere in the $100,000 realm, and it’s our hope we’ll at least see a couple getting thrashed around the roads here in the U.S. rather than the more likely scenario of them being placed in bubble wrap as an investment.
