Motorcycle specifications Ducati1100 Panigale V4 S Bagnaia World Champion Replica 2023 The mark of a grail

2022 will have been a very successful year for Ducati in sporting terms. A serious contender for victory in the Bol d'Or, the World Superbike rider and manufacturer title with 32 podiums and 16 wins, and the MotoGP crown with the rider and manufacturer titles. In all, the Italian firm took 12 victories and placed at least one bike on every podium of the season, with a total of 32 podium finishes.

With a real squadron, it was a little easier to place one's pieces on the chessboard - 8 Desmosedici on the grid. While these were reserved for the world's top drivers, the enthusiastic (and wealthy) public can also treat themselves to a very special Panigale that bears a striking resemblance to the victorious MotoGP prototype: the V4S World Champion Replica Francesco Bagnaia #63.

This bike is already a real little gem, with its super-powerful 215-hp V4, Öhlins pilot-operated suspension and striking silhouette. The term "Replica" is applied to the entire exterior of this Ducati. Every sticker, every sponsor, every colorful expression of the Pecco machine is reproduced on the Panigale. On the other hand, the svelte, tasty and racy look of the production sports bike contrasts (for the better) with the rolling and not necessarily cheerful laboratory that is the Desmosedici. Ducat' doesn't care! Behind these thankless lines, the machine is the scarecrow of the championship.

This Panigale World Champion will give you a little more exclusivity, with Francesco Bagnaia's signature on the tank and machined aluminum fork crown, laser-engraved with the rider's name and the bike's serial number. Three digits, from 001 to 260, are inlaid into the metal, because, as you'll have guessed, the factory will produce two hundred and sixty units.

However, it's important to specify 260 x 2. There is also a Bautista WSBK Replica version, produced in the same number of units, with a different look but identical equipment.
These Panigale V4S models have decided to be relatively generous. Fortunately, given the sick price tag. They gain Brembo Stylema R brake calipers, an MCS master cylinder with offset adjustment (also from Brembo), a pair of Akrapovic exhausts that save two kilos, a racing bubble, an STM-EVO SBK dry clutch for more power, rizoma adjustable aluminum footrests, machined levers, a certificate of authenticity, DDA+ data acquisition, a special cover, a racing fuel filler cap and a few carbon parts. The selection includes mudguards, brake caliper cooling ducts, winglets, thermal protection for the rear exhaust manifold, open-work alternator housing and swingarm protection - with a little titanium for the latter.
Disassembly kits for the number plate and mirrors are also included.

but frankly, Ducati hasn't made much of an effort. A Panigale SP2 that ' s almost 35% less expensive gets more attractive equipment. At the very least, this adored hypersport deserves full carbon bodywork and special rims, plus a track day with Pecco and a pass to see a GP from the inside. Let's hope Claudio Domenicali will be inspired by these few words.

Whether it's the Bagnaia or Bautista version, these Panigale Replica bikes are offered at an insane price. Correction: were. Although the ticket price was 63,000 euros - at 50,000 and 70,000, the result would have been the same - all models were gone in a matter of hours. The accountant was delighted to see a line of 32 million euros appear at the end of the day.
The Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini suffered a similar fate. Also sold for 63 plaques, its 630 units were reserved in a single day.

Why 260? In reference to the year Ducati was founded: 1926.
While we're on the subject of numbers, it had been 50 years since an Italian had been crowned world champion on an Italian motorcycle.

M.B. - Manufacturer's photos