2020 Ducati Panigale V4R

Lights: Bi-Xenon Projector Bulbs

As if the torrentially quick Ducati Panigale wasn’t fast enough, Ducati released the Panigale V4R to great excitement. It’s LED eyelids help it look the part as one of the fastest machines on tarmac, and the bikes performance backs it up.

The Ducati Panigale V4R was launched in 2019 as Ducati’s flagship motorcycle, featuring bi-xenon and LED headlights. The evolution of motorcycle headlights is very similar to the progression of automobile headlights. The earliest motorcycles had brass oil and acetylene headlamps, followed by carbon filament lamps, and electric. Most modern motorcycles feature halogen bulbs, with LED and bi-xenon lights on more exclusive motorcycles. The V4R features distinctive LED daytime running lights, along with bi-xenon projectors that sit directly above the air intakes, to help with aerodynamics. The LED taillights of the V4R are used to accentuate the styling, yet remain slim enough to hide in the tail section of the motorcycle. Additionally, the front and rear turn signals are LED as well, to ensure directional changes are seen.

Upon launch in 2019, the V4R was Ducati’s most powerful homologated motorcycle ever produced, with 221hp. All that power is mated to a 90° V4 engine that redlines at 16,500rpm. As the motorcycle is a homologation special for World Superbike, Ducati had to produce 500 within a year of launch for them to compete. Ducati has won more World Superbike titles than every other manufacturer combined, at 17. The front fairings of the race motorcycle feature stickers of the headlights to make it resemble the production bike as much as possible.

Ducati went through extensive weight savings with carbon fiber and titanium parts, to make the bike have a dry weight of 365 pounds, 21 pounds lighter than the standard V4. The aerodynamics are very impressive, with the winglets generating 81 pounds of downforce at 186mph. The frame is 30% stiffer, which allows the motorcycle to handle better around the track. The bike features three different driving modes, Street, Sport, and Race. Each mode has a default setting, but the rider is able to customize it entirely to their preferred setting. Additionally, the bike has a lot of helpful riding aids such as, multi-step traction, wheelie, and slide control. The quickshifter and launch control ensure that the bike can do zero to 100mph in under six seconds, while the Brembo ABS maintains safe stopping power. The $5,500 aftermarket titanium Akrapovič exhaust system increases the horsepower to 234, while reducing the total weight of the motorcycle.