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2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale – 195hp / 395 lbs (Base)

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Confirming what we reported back in November of last year regarding the performance figures for Ducati’s new Superbike, Ducati dealership Pro-Italia posted on its Facebook wall (now redacted) a less-than-cryptic “395/195” message while in attendance at the Ducati Dealership meeting in Miami, Floria. Noting the wet weight and brake horsepower, the new 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale makes good on its promise to trump its predecessor by over 20hp and 20 lbs. To thank for the these benchmark miracles is the 1199 Panigale’s very over-square Superquadrata motor (also known as the SuperQuadro in some rumor reports), which will rev higher than any other previous Ducati Superbike motor to-date, and the company’s new “frameless” chassis design, which has been floundering in MotoGP.

While we can’t speak for the efficacy of Ducati’s new chassis philosophy, and how it will work on the company’s new v-twin production bike, the spec-sheet racers should be impressed with this latest piece of information. And as if those figures weren’t impressive enough already, Asphalt & Rubber has learned that the Ducati 1199 Panigale homologation special, the made-for-racing “production” model which has been making its appearance in the bulk of the 1199’s spy shots, has been producing over 205hp at the crank during its recent testing at Borgo Panigale facility (the namesake for the 1199 Superbike), while in its “stock” form. While we don’t know what naming convention Ducati will use on the race-bike-with-lights-on-it 1199, A&R does know that it will not receive “R” nomenclature that we’ve seen in the past.

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News

I’m Ducati Superbike 1199 Superquadrata, Bitch.

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The tale that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s business card at one point read “I’m CEO, Bitch” is in fact true. Perhaps tired of dealing with investors and businessmen that didn’t take him seriously, or perhaps the young entrepreneur faced a tough time telling industry specialists twice or three times his age how the world was about to change, ol’Zuck was surely responding to the titles others had placed on him. Enervated at hearing phrases like “that kid” or “the Harvard dropout”, Zuckerberg’s “I’m CEO, Bitch” business card was not only about the young CEO having an equal seat at the table, but also about his personal brand, and reminded whomever held the card that were talking to the creator of one of most popular websites ever on the internet.

If we can stretch that metaphor a bit further, the new Ducati Superbike has its own identity crisis in the eyes of the public. Like the Ducati Vyper and Ducati Cayenne that came before it, we were first introduced to Ducati’s new flagship with its internal name: Xtreme. Whether out of the desire to drive webpage hits by creating controversy, or just actually being that gullible/naive about the story, mainstream outlets began using the nomenclature as if the Bologna brand had adopted product names that tugged on a common heart strings from the Twilight faithful.

Cleverly deciphering Ducati’s secret model numbering scheme, more educated publications latched onto the more likely Superbike 1199 verbiage. There was over course precedent for this +1 trend, after watching the Superbike 998 become the 999. Knowing that Ducati would be releasing a ridiculously over-square v-twin motor with the new Superbike, we also learned early on that the new power plant would be known as the Superquadrata, which sounds far more clever in Italian than its translated English. With all these different names being banded about for the same machine, we wanted to definitely put the business card wars to bed, and say conclusively that the new flagship from Bologna will be called the Ducati Superbike 1199 Superquadrata.

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News

Best Shots of the Ducati Superbike 1199 So Far

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Though still small in resoltuion, these are the best shots of the upcoming 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 that we’ve seen to-date. Testing at the Mugello circuit in Italy a few months ago (alongside Ducati Corse and the Ducati Desmosedici GP12), Ducati is slowly progressing on the Superbike 1199‘s final design, which sees the flagship motorcycle ditching its trellis frame for a MotoGP-inspired stressed airbox front end.

The Superquadrata v-twin motor is built overly-square, and should produce nearly 200hp in its max trim. Other features are the LED headlight system, a horizontally-mounted rear shock, and a unicorn tears lubrication system (we’re not so sure about one of these three features). Expect more photos and info to “leak” out of Ducati as we get closer to EICMA, where the Ducati Superbike 1199 will debut. Thanks for the tip Geoffry!

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News

Photo: 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199’s Headlights

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Motociclismo.it continues to be Ducati’s favorite channel to leak teasers of its upcoming Superbike, the 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199. Promising to be a revolutionary design for the Italian brand, we know already that the bike will shed roughly 20 lbs from the 1198 model, while adding 20hp to its peak horsepower figure. This astonishing power increase comes from the “Superquadrata” v-twin motor, which features an overly-square cylinder design, that should rev to peaky power delivery delight (if you’re into that sort of thing).

From this latest photo we see that the new 1199 (we’ve been enjoying the rumors that the new Superbike would be called the Xtreme) borrows from the 916’s squinty highlight design, while adding the 1098/1198’s more pronounced air intake structure. The Ducati Superbike 1199 will be fed that healthy dose of oxygen through a stressed aluminum airbox/headtube design, à la its MotoGP frameless technology, and for which we’ve already seen patents of the design.

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Bikes

2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 Rendered by Luca Bar Design

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Ever since we heard about the new 2012 Ducati Superbike, we’ve been marking the days until we could see the v-twin sex machine in the flesh. There’s no denying that the specs being banded about on the new Superquadrata motor are impressive, as the new bike is expected to make up to 20hp more than the current Superbike 1198 (though peak performance numbers only tell one side of the story). Also intriguing is the MotoGP-derived stressed-airbox chassis arrangement, which finally does away with the iconic trellis chassis, though has caused some problems for Valentino Rossi on his move to Ducati Corse.

Just last month we got our first look at the new Superbike prototype, as Ducati leaked first a Supersport spec version of what many think will be called the Ducati Superbike 1199. An encore to that moment, the street version of the v-twin superbike leaked just days later. While many of us will have to use our imagination on what Ducati’s latest creation will look like, we’re lucky that Luca Bar Design (website here: bar-design.net) can take those thoughts and put them to paper, err…pixels. Rendering the 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 from what information that is available, this is perhaps one of the best glimpses as to what the Bologna Bullet will look like. Two more renders after the jump.

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Rumors

Spy Shot: 2012 Ducati Superbike Superquadrata

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It was only a matter of time until a photo of the new 2012 Ducati Superbike “Superquadrata” appeared online, as we knew the bike was testing last week at Mugello, alongside Valentino Rossi’s further testing of the Ducati Desmosedici GP12. Set to debut at the 2011 EICMA show, the new Ducati Superbike is a marked departure from the current Ducati Superbike 1198.

Up until now, we did not know fully what the bike would look like, but this photo featured by MotoSprint.it sheds some light on the new Ducati, and confirms earlier reports we’d been given. Featuring an over-square v-twin motor (hence the name Superquadrata that’s been milling about), the 2012 Ducati Superbike says goodbye to the iconic trellis frame, and features a chassis that takes a page from Ducati’s MotoGP project.

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Racing

2012 Ducati Superquadrata Superbike Testing at Mugello

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According to the venerable GPone, Ducati will be doing a double dose of testing today at the Italian circuit of Mugello. Perhaps the only thing that can excite Ducatista more than Valentino Rossi on-board the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 (something that will be taking place today as well) is news that the 2012 Ducati “Superquadrata” Superbike will be making its track debut at the Italian circuit.

Reportedly Italian Danilo Petrucci, who currently campaigns a Ducati 1098R in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup for the Barni Racing team, will be at the helm of the new 2012 Ducati Superbike, testing the machine in both Superbike and Superstock trim, and in the bike’s first trials outside of the Borgo Panigale dyno room.

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Rumors

2012 Ducati Superbike: +20 HP/-20 lbs

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2011 marks the end of the current Ducati Superbike 1198 as we know it, and Ducati has been hard at work on the successor to the crown jewel in its model line-up. Undertaking the most expensive model design in the history of the company, Ducati has poured a ton of resources into its 2012 Superbike in order to make it a market leader. Recently stretching the faith of the Ducati loyal by introducing bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, and now the new Ducati Diavel that extend Ducati into non-racing segments, 2012 is the Bologna brand’s answer that it is heavily committed to its Superbike roots.

Starting from scratch with its design, the 2012 Ducati Superbike features two impressive performance figures: an additional 20hp (taking the Superbike up to 190hp), and a weight reduction of 20 lbs across the model line. Host to a bevy of street bike firsts, our Bothan Spies also tell us that the new Superbike is going to be a stunner.

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