After The Panigale V2, The Ducati Streetfighter V2?

Ducati is milking its new series of V engines. After making its way in the Panigale and the all-new Streetfighter, the V4 engine will land in the Multistrada sometime in 2020. Ducati followed up with the introduction in October 2019 of the V2, the half V4, introduced like its big brother in a downsized version of the Panigale. Considering the road map Ducati’s V engines are following, saying that the company is likely to come up with a V2 version of the Streetfighter is almost too easy a deduction. But yeah. Ducati is likely to come up with a V2 version of the Streetfighter.

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The folks at Motorcycle News got to chat with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali once again. The guy is notorious for being an open book when it comes to discussing the future of his company and once again, he delivers. 

Our British colleagues asked Domenicali about how the Streetfighter V4 can seem daunting to certain riders, he explained that this is what the Panigale V2 has been designed for: to counteract that perception and offer a model that looks and feels more accessible. Of course, he would like to apply a similar formula to the naked lineup. “We would like to have naked bikes in different categories, too,” he commented. “We are thinking of a very interesting new naked model that will come sooner rather than later.”

With words like these, it’s hard not to draw lines between the Streetfighter and the V2. After all, Ducati didn’t limit the use of its new four-cylinder engine to the Panigale: it took full advantage of the engine’s potential. With that in mind, it doesn’t really make sense that the V2 be limited to the Pani, especially not with the gorgeous Streetfighter model the company just unveiled. The pairing of the naked sportbike and the downsized engine seems written in the sky. 

Whether the naked V2 will be a Streetfighter or something else remains to be seen but considering the new model is pretty much a stripped-down Panigale and there already is a Panigale V2, it looks like the most logical way to proceed. 

Now, what I’m really hoping to see is Ducati embrace the middle-weight adventure segment and follow up with a Multistrada V2 but if that’s ever to happen, it probably won’t be for a while. There’s a Multistrada V4 and likely a Streetfighter V2 coming first. 

Sources: Motorcycle News, Motociclismo, DriveMag Riders