Leaked pics show finished Ducati Panigale V4

Leaked images straight out of the Ducati factory show the yet-to-be released Panigale V4 in its finished form, weeks before the bike’s official unveiling.

The image confirms Ducati will stick to its Panigale namesake’s styling formula, rather than follow the design lines of the Desmosedici engine donor machinery. The offset horizontally mounted rear shock of the outgoing V-twin Superbike has been dropped in favour of a traditional up-and-down rear shock.

The images reveal the Panigale V4 will retain the model’s signature underslung exhaust despite the V4 engine configuration. It’s not a silly move considering the firm will continue to race the V-twin in the Superbike World Championship until the 2019 season.

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The S at the end of the bike’s moniker means Ducati will offer at least two versions of the 1103cc V4 pictured here, with a 1000cc R homologation special expected later. Like previous iterations of the Ducati Superbike, the S-model gains semi-active suspension which can be clearly identified in these images as well as a likely bevy of extra electronic aids.

Aerodynamics appear to play a big role in the bike’s bodywork, or at least clever use of airflow to aid cooling, as can be seen both in the front-fairing and rear-seat sections of the new bike.

Interestingly, the subframe appears to be bolted to both the engine and what looks to be a conventional style beam chassis, but until the bike’s official unveiling at EICMA in November, we can’t be sure.

One thing we can be sure of is these images have eroded any hope Ducati had of a successful teaser campaign used to create anticipation prior to the bike’s big reveal.