four-wheelers are obvious staples of the event like the Frankfurt Motor Show, but not necessarily the only type of vehicle that manufacturers are eager to showoff. Audi-owned Ducati also took this opportunity to officially uncover the 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale Superbike, the little sibling to the 1199 Panigale. at a glance, it looks almost identical to the 1199 and why shouldn’t it be when it is in fact a “Supermid” version (read: toned down version) of the 1199 with the intention of making superbike more accessible. seated within the innovative Panigale monocoque chassis is the 899 Superquadro two-cylinder engine that delivers 148 hp (109 kW) and 10 kgm (73 lb-ft) of torque, and mated to the same six-speed gearbox as found in the 1199.

other highlights include a new compact instrumentation panel, LED positioning lights, LED brake lights, three rider-selectable riding modes (Race, Sport and Wet), Ducati Quick Shift (DQS), Ducati Traction Control (DTC), Engine Brake Control (EBC), Ride-by-Wire (aka electronic throttle control), Brembo brake system with triple stage anti-lock brakes, Showa Big Piston Forks (BPF) fully-adjustable front forks, Sachs fully-adjustable rear suspension unit and 17″ ten-spoke wheels shod in Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa rubbers. the 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale Superbike will be available in Ducati Red matched to black wheels for $14,995. there’s also an Arctic White version that’s paired with red wheels for an additional 300 bucks, on top of the 15 grand.

Ducati via Motorcycle USA

Published by Mike

Avid tech enthusiast, gadget lover, marketing critic and most importantly, love to reason and talk.