Ducati Panigale V2 India launch confirmed: All you need to know

The Ducati Panigale V2 is finally set to be launched in the Indian market. Ducati India recently posted a picture on its social media profiles of the key and ignition port of a Ducati Panigale V2. In the description was the hashtag #ComingSoon, indicating the imminent arrival of the motorcycle in the Indian market.

What makes it interesting is that the arrival of the Ducati Panigale V2 was imminent the day it was first announced. The Ducati Panigale V2 has been designed to replace the Ducati 959, which is one of the popular Ducati models, even in India.

The 959 wasn’t the flagship superbike in the Ducati portfolio, but it was more accessible thanks to its relatively lower price tag and hence it was more successful. The Ducati Panigale V2 is also built on similar principles and by the looks of it, will surpass the success of the 959.

It is in essence, a less powerful version of the V4 with two cylinders instead of four and an almost similar list of features. The Ducati Panigale V2 looks exactly like the flagship V4. It comes with the same twin LED headlamps up front, the same LED DRLs and the same sporty fairing.

It comes with the same sporty design lines and curves and cuts as the Panigale V4. In-fact, it will take an eye and ear for detail to spot the differences between the two motorcycles. We say ear because the sound the V2 produces can’t be compared to the glorious soundtrack of the V4.

Eye for detail because the only major difference on the outside other than the badging is only the exhaust system. Instead of the signature underbelly, twin-pod underbelly exhaust, the V2 gets a stubby, single outlet on the right side.

Instrumentation is handled by a 4.3-inch, full-colour TFT display again taken from the Panigale V4. It even gets switchable riding modes. Riders can switch between Street, Sport and Race modes that alter the engine’s output and the way the power is put down to the wheel.

This brings us to the biggest difference between the V4 and V2 — the engine. It is a liquid-cooled, V-twin Superquadro motor taken from the outgoing Panigale 959. In the V2 though, it has been updated to meet Euro 5/BS-VI emissions regulations.

In the process, it has also gained 5bhp and 2Nm more than the outgoing engine. It now has a maximum power output of 150.7bhp at 10.750rpm and a peak torque output of 104Nm at 9,000rpm. A 6-speed gearbox drives the rear wheel. It is expected to be launched at a price of around Rs 15 lakh (ex-showroom).