Coming Soon | 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R

With its 216 horsepower V4 engine and £30,000 starting price you’d think the Panigale V4 is fast and expensive enough for even the most exacting Ducati fans. Seemingly not, though, and while the Tricolore and near-£70K Lamborghini versions deal with the ‘not expensive enough’ issue this new V4 R dials up the speed and intensity yet further.
Revealed as the first of Ducati’s new 2026 model year bikes, the R builds on the already scary fast V4 with many and various detail upgrades inspired by, or directly transferred from, the machines raced in the Superbike World Championship.

These include – but are not limited to – a revised race-style gearbox with neutral to first shift pattern in place of the usual road format of down for first then up to neutral and second and beyond. A ‘neutral lock’ on the bars is also included to stop you going past first as you shift down and avoid the embarrassment (or worse) of trying to exit a low-speed corner with no drive. Just remember to disengage it before coming back into the pits.
Power is also up a smidge to 218 horsepower as standard, or up to 239 horsepower with the optional Akrapovič titanium exhaust system and with a sump full of Ducati Corse Performance Oil. In that configuration top speed is knocking on 205mph which is … enough. More significant are modifications to Desmosedici Stradale R engine like lighter pistons and revised fuelling that unleash as much as 4 horsepower more across the rev range, making the R even more responsive. Torque has also increased.

Other race bike features include what are known as Corner Pods for increased stability in high lean angles (a claimed first on a production road bike), bigger front winglets for increased downforce and additional adjustment for the suspension, including a multi-position swingarm pivot and tweakable ride height. A hydraulic preload adjuster for the Öhlins rear shock meanwhile makes quick adjustments in the pitlane a lot easier, this and the forks both recalibrated for the R over the regular bike. You can also run the R on race slicks for the track without any additional modifications, should you so wish. Revisions to the Race Brake Control automatic trail braking function have also been introduced for the R to help you back it into the corners like a pro.
If you need numbers and percentages to measure your adrenaline hit you can option in full race bike style datalogging to try and identify where you can go faster still, carbon wheels also among the many and various ways to make your V4 R faster, more expensive and even fancier looking. First deliveries start in November, pricing to be confirmed but likely as punch as the performance.