After months and months of waiting, Ducati finally rewarded everyone's patience by officially announcing the Streetfighter V4. Essentially a Panigale V4 in its altogether, the Streetfighter is a vision in Rosso Corsa with its muscular lines, aggressive ergos, exposed mechanicals, and an overall aesthetic inspired by, according to Ducati bigwigs, The Joker. So, what does the Streetfighter bring to the table other than higher handlebars and a face inspired by the Clown Prince of Crime? Let's check it out.

The new Streetfighter comes in two flavors—the base model V4 and the fancy shmancy V4 S. Both models share the hi-po 208 horsepower, 1,103cc, V4 Desmosedici Stradale V4 mill out of the Panigale along with that bike's electronics package—TFT instrument panel, engine management, etc. As on the fully-clothed Panigale, the Streetfighter's Desmo Stradale engine is sandwiched between lightweight forward and aft subframes where it acts as a stressed member and provides just the right amount of stiffness. All of this is in a package that weighs just shy of 400 pounds. That's a, uh, favorable power to weight ratio right there, friends.

Panigale V4 Streetfighter
I guess it sorta looks like The Joker if you squint at it. Kinda.

While the engine itself carries over unchanged, Ducati fiddled with the Streetfighter's fuel and throttle mapping. This fiddling, along with a shorter final drive ratio, reportedly increases rear-wheel torque by 10 percent over the Panigale. For those discerning customers who require more ponies and more torque from their bonkers fiery, passionate Italian naked bike, the V4 can be fitted with a race-spec Akrapovic exhaust which increases power to 220 horsepower. Not too shabby.

Gallery: Ducati Panigale V4 Streetfighter

Keeping all this power (and fire and passion) under control and on the tarmac is a collection of suspension and brake components pulled from the more expensive section of the parts catalog. The standard V4 features 43mm Showa Big Piston forks with built-in spring preload and compression and rebound adjustability up front and a fully-adjustable Sachs monoshock out back. A Sachs steering damper ties the whole setup together. The V4S gets high-end Öhlins NIX-30 forks, an Öhlins TTX36 monoshock, and an electronically controlled Öhlins steering damper. The V4S's suspension system features all of the Panigale V4S's suspension control wizardry and can be set in passive and semi-active modes. Brakes on both models are courtesy of Brembo—Stylema monobloc calipers grabbing 330mm rotors forward and a 245mm rotor with two-piston caliper aft—and are controlled by a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit and Ducati's Cornering ABS EVO system.

Panigale V4 Streetfighter
Panigale V4 Streetfighter

As if all that wasn't enough, Ducati brings race-inspired aero to the naked bike segment with not one, but two sets of winglets. These tiny aerodynamic wings—which Ducati calls biplane wings—are mounted to each side of the sparse bodywork and generate a respectable 61 pounds of downforce at 167 miles-per-hour. As an added bonus, the winglets also help cool the engine, increasing radiator and oil cooler flowthrough speeds and keeping all that Italian passion from burning your legs or bursting into flame. Hopefully.

Overall, the Streetfighter was worth the wait. There are no pricing details yet, but you can bet your cannoli that both models will be relatively spendy. Eh, it's Ducati. We expect to pay a premium for a premium bike from a premium brand. We'll let you know more about pricing and availability when we find out.

Top comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
Comment!
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@rideapart.com