Meet The New Ducati V4 Granturismo Engine

The new lighter, more powerful Multistrada powerhouse.

12:04

Sabrina Giacomini

By: Sabrina Giacomini

Oct 15, 2020 at 7:24am ET

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Ducati introduced the 1,103cc, desmodromic, 90-degree V4 engine at the end of 2017 to replace its outgoing L-twin. At the time, the House of Borgo Panigale introduced the new mill cradled inside an equally new Panigale. The Panigale V4R followed a year later, armed with a smaller, 998cc version of the four-cylinder engine.

On October 15, 2020, Ducati introduced yet another version of its now-famous mill, and this time, it received the touring treatment. Meet the V4 Granturismo.

Over the weeks leading up to the unveiling, Ducati revealed a few clues about the new engine that will power the next-generation Multistrada. We learned that the new block would be lighter and more compact, that it would produce 170 horsepower, and that it had a much, much longer maintenance interval. We’re done with clues; we now get the full picture.

The V4 Granturismo boasts a displacement of 1,158cc and produces 170 horsepower at 10,500 rpm and 92.2 lb-ft of torque at 8,750 rpm—a subtle increase from the current 1260 Testastretta’s 158 hp and 95.5 lb-ft of torque. Compared to the current Multistrada’s 1,262cc L-twin, the V4 is 85mm shorter, 95mm lower, 20mm wider, and 2.64 pounds lighter.

The Granturismo also features a counter-rotating crankshaft (like the other Ducati V4s) and is set up to use the same twin-pulse firing order (front left cylinder to rear left cylinder to front right cylinder to rear right cylinder). According to Ducati, the camshafts’ profiles and valve lift speed were specifically tuned to meet the Multristrada’s touring requirements without sacrificing on performance.

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Maintenance intervals (for the Ducati service, not for oil changes) are now set at every 37,280 miles—double the distance of the current engine.

As for the bike itself, it was teased on October 6, when the manufacturer announced that it was now entering production. That’s also when we learned that the new Multi is the first motorcycle equipped with radars and with an adaptive cruise control system. The bike is set to launch on November 4.