It’s official, the folks in Bologna are about to launch the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition, the name being confirmed in emission filings made to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) this week.
The CARB document confirms a couple items for us (most notably the name of the final v-twin superbike), but it also raises some interesting questions.
For instance, the CARB document shows that the “FE” Panigale will have a 1285cc engine, just like the rest of the Ducati 1299 Panigale lineup, yet the bike will still carry the “R” badge, which is usually reserved for Ducati’s race homologation machine.
We are not sure how the Panigale R name, and the Final Edition machine with its 1285cc displacement fit into Ducati’s typical designation scheme (beyond price, of course), so it will be interesting to hear how Ducati explains that at the Final Edition debut, slated for the Laguna Seca World Superbike weekend.
Until then, we can puzzle ourselves about another interesting factoid, namely that the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition has completely different emission numbers from the Ducati 1299 Panigale and the Ducati 1299 Superleggera.
In fact, compared to its sister models, the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition is the cleanest running of the bunch, with lower hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide levels shown on its CARB paperwork.
Loyal Asphalt & Rubber readers will remember that just a few days ago, technical specs for the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition leaked online, showing that the FE shares quite a few engine internals with the Superleggera model.
We expect notable differences between the Final Edition and Superleggera models to focus on the FE model having steel cylinder liners, steel fasteners, and a die-cast crank case.
Expected to be roughly half the price of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera, we are guessing that the FE will be mechanically very similar to the SL, though devoid of many of the Superleggera’s carbon fiber goodies.
We have only a couple more weeks to wait and see. Stay tuned.
Source: CARB
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