Ducati 1199 Panigale
$18,000 base, $23,000 S-model, $28,000 Tricolore
Three obvious but crucial points to ponder about superbikes: 1. They are brutally fast machines, with specific outputs and acceleration figures that (aided by a general lack of governmental regulation) put seven-figure supercars to shame. 2. They only get fiercer, thanks to an arms race fueled by an insatiable desire to claim bragging rights and beat the other guys on the world’s race circuits. 3. Most cost about as much as a Kia Rio.
Ducati, that more-exotic-than-the-next purveyor of two-wheeled tomfoolery, spent two decades incrementally evolving its superbike design and sticking to a trellis frame layout before completely reinventing its 2012 flagship. Dubbed the “Panigale” after the Bolognese neighborhood where the Italian manufacturer is based, the newest bike addresses its predecessor’s shortcomings with a completely re-imagined design retaining two quintessentially Ducati features: a big twin engine layout, and Desmodromic valves. Though the trellis frame and butt-burning underseat muffler are gone, the signature Ducati exhaust note remains....more
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