Ducati 959 Panigale superbike is finally here in India and you can have it for the sweet price of Rs 14.04 lakh. This puts the 959 Panigale up against other mighty machines like the Honda CBR1000 RR and the Suzuki GSX-S1000, and other bikes in the segment.
Interestingly, the 959 Panigale has been engineering on the platform of the 1299 Panigale, its elder brother. This superbike is powered by a 955-cc L-twin Superquadro engine which can produce 157-bhp @10,500rpm of peak power, as per the company.
The engine is mated to a 6-speed Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) transmission and Engine Brake Control (EBC) is part of the heavy machine as well.
In terms of the way it looks, the 959 Panigale gets a new split-section tailpiece, with angular rear view mirrors and new billet-machined aluminium foot pegs, as stated by Ducati.
In terms of safety, the 955-cc powered superbike is equipped with ABS and Ducati Traction control (DTC) among other features.
It is hard to say if the 959 Panigale will attract bike enthusiasts in the country, especially when you consider that there are other 955-cc superbikes available for much less. But this is Ducati after all, so we could be wrong.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)