Ducati Panigale V4 R (2026) - Technical Review

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - looks fast standing still

If you ever need an indication that Ducati’s engineers are steeped in the arts of black magic look no further than the new 2026 Panigale V4 R – a bike that somehow manages to meet the latest Euro 5+ emissions limits while squeezing 218hp from a mere 998cc and can hike that output to 239hp if you dip into the extensive options catalogue for a race pipe and a splash of specially-formulated Shell oil.

The numbers are on a par with the previous generation V4R despite the tighter emissions rules and the 2026 model adds more torque and a broader spread of performance into the bargain, all combined with a more sophisticated chassis, groundbreaking aerodynamics and supremely capable electronics. What’s more, thanks to the price cap on WSBK homologation bikes, the 2026 V4 R, while not cheap, is set to be something of a bargain given the level of performance and equipment it features.

Pros & Cons

Above: are you even a superbike if you don't have wings?

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Price

The WSBK price cap of €44,000 for homologated bikes means Ducati can’t increase the Panigale V4R’s price despite the introduction of a new model – so the 2026 machine comes in at the same £38,995 as its predecessor.

That means it’s not even the most expensive Panigale in the lineup, despite having performance and equipment levels that are a step above some of the pricy limited-edition machines that sport substantially higher tags. Can a £40k bike be a bargain? The Panigale V4 R certainly makes a case for it.

Of course, once you dip into the catalogue of extras, like that must-have Akrapovič exhaust that adds 17hp for 235hp (or 239hp when combined with Ducati Corse’s specially-formulated Shell Advance oil), and a few extra carbon-fibre elements, the bottom line will increase substantially…

Colours? You’d better like red, as that’s the only scheme the V4 R comes in, offset by a bare alloy fuel tank. But it would be blasphemy to have another hue, wouldn’t it?

Dealers expect to get the bikes in November this year, giving race teams plenty of time to prep machines for the 2026 season and promising a very happy Christmas for the first customers who want the ultimate Ducati street bike in their garage.

Above: the first double-sided swingarm on a WSBK Ducati since the 999R

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Engine & Performance

• 998cc version of Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine gets substantial updates to hit emissions limits and pump up the midrange

• New race-style gearbox puts neutral below first for cleaner, faster shifts, adds neutral lock-out on the righthand bar, as used on MotoGP and WSBK bikes.

• Akrapovič exhaust hikes power from 218hp to 235hp

In the barest terms, the 2026 Panigale V4 engine offers similar performance to its predecessor, with the same claimed 218hp in road-legal standard form, and the optional Akrapovič pipe and special oil increase that figure to 239hp, a fraction lower than the 240.5hp that the 2023-on version promised with the same mods. But that’s not the whole picture, as the new bike packs a substantial bump in its torque and midrange performance as well as meeting the latest Euro 5+ emissions rules, promising to make it faster overall than the previous version.

The basics of the engine are familiar: it’s the Desmosedici Stradale 90-degree V4, with counterrotating crankshaft to eliminate gyroscopic influence on the bike’s handling and the same Twin-Pulse firing interval used by other Panigale V4s. But the changes to create the homologation version are extensive.

The 998cc capacity, down from the normal Panigale’s 1103cc, comes courtesy of a shorter 48.4mm stroke combined with the same 81mm bore – figures that match the MotoGP Desmosedici engine – and for 2026 there are new internals including a 195g heavier crank that helps boost midrange, new pistons that are even lighter than the already flyweight versions used before, saving 40g, and updated conrods. However, the biggest change is the intake, which features repositioned secondary fuel injectors, shifted from the lower surface of the intake duct to the upper part, along with redesigned throttles to suit and revised intake trumpets.

Tweaked cam profiles retain the same lift and overlap as before but open the exhaust valves later to give more time for complete combustion inside the cylinder, improving emissions and making sure the engine makes the most from every drop of fuel. Max torque rises from 82 lb-ft at 12,000rpm to 84.5 lb-ft at the same revs, a 3% gain, but Ducati claims a larger 7% hike down at 6000rpm, giving a fatter midrange and better acceleration.

Even more important than the engine changes are the alterations to the transmission, which is dubbed ‘Ducati Racing Gearbox’ and shortened to DRG. It changes the order the gears, so instead of the usual down-for-first, up-for-the-rest sequence that we’re all used to, it puts neutral at the bottom instead of between first and second. It’s a design that makes first a more useable ratio, rather than just a gear for setting off, and means you can shift down into it without a risk of hitting neutral instead.

To make the system work and ensure you don’t push the level too far and accidentally end up in neutral, Ducati adds a neutral lock-out (inevitably called Ducati Neutral Lock and initialised to DNL), in the form of an extra thumb lever on the righthand bar. To get neutral you need to move the DNL and shift the foot lever down. As soon as you go back into first, the neutral lock-out automatically reengages, making it impossible to select neutral unintentionally.

There’s still a quickshifter, of course, but it doesn’t use a microswitch on the lever, instead monitoring the shift drum’s position for more a more positive feel, and Ducati has extended the final drive ratio to allow the Panigale V4 R to reach a top speed of 197.8mph in standard form, or a stupendous 205.4mph when you’ve added the race-spec exhaust.

Even the bodywork is updated in pursuit of increased power, with a redesigned front intake that has its lower edge extended by 70mm, adding 0.6% more intake air pressure at 186mph for a 1.3hp power boost at the same speed. Every little helps, after all, but that bigger intake can now hit the front mudguard under heavy braking, so Ducati has made the lower edge from a flexible material to allow that to happen.

No false neutrals on the V4 R

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

• First road bike to get ground-effect ‘Corner Sidepods’ that debuted on the Ducati GP bike in 2021

• Bigger winglets

• First double-sided swingarm on a WSBK Ducati since the 999R

While single-sided swingarms have their origins in racing – Honda pushed the idea with the RC30 to allow faster wheel changes in endurance events – they also have downsides in terms of weight and rigidity when compared to dual-sided designs. With the 2025 Panigale V4 Ducati turned away from single-siders on its road-going superbikes and the 2026 Panigale V4 R does the same for its race machine by adopting the same ‘Hollow Symmetrical Swingarm’ that appeared a year ago on the standard bike.

The company says the change is driven by developments in tyres and the focus on controlled chassis flex that the latest, grippiest racing rubber introduces. The new swingarm is a substantial 3.27kg lighter than the old single-sider, but also 37% less laterally stiff to help maximise grip and 16mm longer than the old bike’s single-sider to increase traction and stability.

The frame itself is also borrowed from the standard 2025 Panigale V4, with a front frame section bolted straight to the cylinder heads and the engine as a fully stressed member. That front frame has 40% less lateral rigidity than the old version to increase feedback and boost front grip at extreme lean angles, with the handy side effect of being 17% lighter.

In its standard form, that lightness isn’t directly transferred to the bike. Wet, but without fuel, the new model comes in at 186.5kg, which is 2.5kg more than the old version in the same state, but you can delve deep into the options list to make the figure lower with carbon-fibre parts including carbon wheels, a carbon tail unit and carbon mudguards and winglets, depending on how deep your pockets are.

The bouncy bits are made up of 43mm Öhlins NPX25/30 forks and a TTX36 rear shock – the same parts used on the previous V4 R – but the rear spring is stiffer to compensate for the longer swingarm and there’s a new rear ride height adjustment system in the linkage that offers more than twice as much movement, 32.4mm instead of 13mm. A new Öhlins SD20 steering damper is also added. None of the suspension has the electronic trickery of the Panigale V4 S or some other models, but this is a race-oriented machine so it doesn’t need that sort of instant adjustability.

Brembo Hypure calipers are standard, gripping 330mm front discs, with the option to upgrade to bigger 338.5mm Brembo T-Drive discs with the ‘Pro’ package, and to combine those with Brembo GP4 Sport Production calipers in the ‘Pro+’ pack. There’s cornering ABS, of course, but also linked braking, automatically adding rear brake pressure using predefined strategies to maximise brake force and stability.

Like the latest MotoGP bikes, the Panigale V4 R’s handling is also going to be impacted by its aerodynamics.

Most notably, it builds on the updated styling of the latest, 2025-on Panigale V4 by adding the distinctive, downturned ducts at the lower front edges of the side panels that were first introduced to GP racing on the 2021 Desmosedici GP21. Ducati calls these ‘corner sidepods’ and explains that they operate only when the bike is cranked over on its side, mid-corner. Then, they work alongside the road surface to create ground-effect, essentially sucking the front of the bike into the tarmac to boost grip, a sensation that Ducati says can be felt in a tightening of the cornering line as the bike reaches maximum lean. In a straight line, the ducts don’t add drag as they’re in the turbulent wake of the front wheel.

Those cornering sidepods are assisted by new, integrated winglets on the nose. 20mm wider than those on the Panigale V4 S, they’re also reshaped and promise 4.8kg of downforce at 168mph and 6kg at 186mph, a 25% increase on the previous design with no additional drag.

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Comfort & Economy

If you have your eye on a Panigale V4, you’re probably not too concerned about luxuriating in sumptuous long-distance comfort. No, this is at the very extreme end of race-rep design and every element is intended to bring out more performance.

That’s not to say Ducati has ignored ergonomics. Quite the contrary, as the new bike is intended to make it easier than ever to slice fractions off a laptime, which means boosting the rider’s ability to get into the best position, whether that’s tucked in on a straight or hanging off mid-corner.

A 50mm wider seat is combined with textured panels where your knees meet the fuel tank, making it easier to shift your weight to the sides but also better anchoring you under heavy braking. The tank itself is reshaped compared to the old V4 R, again giving more knee grip and letting you tuck deeper behind the screen on straights, and the footpegs are shifted 10mm inwards to make the bike feel slimmer, increase ground clearance and cut down frontal area to reduce drag.

Economy, again, isn’t likely to be a priority, but the tank measures a useful 17-litres – the same as the previous model – and should provide something in the region of 130 miles of range.

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Equipment

• New Ducati Vehicle Observer software boosts rider-assists

• Vast adjustability of riding modes

• Options include race-oriented datalogging

Although the 6.9-inch TFT dash is the same as the rest of the Panigale V4 range, the latest V4 R gets the very best Ducati can muster in terms of electronics – all with the simple goal of letting the V4 R lap as fast as possible.

Key to the updates here is the addition of Ducati Vehicle Observer (DVO), the electronic system that simulates 70 external sensors and feeds that information to the bike’s main computer to improve the reaction of a host of rider-aids.

That’s accompanied by a repositioned inertial measurement unit, tucked nearer the bike’s centre of gravity under the fuel tank instead of the front subframe to give more accurate readings and again maximise the performance of those rider aids.

The aids include cornering traction control, wheelie control, slide control, launch control and engine brake control, each with their own three-letter code (DTC, DWC, DSC, DPL and EBC respectively) and tied into the riding modes of the bike. There are five modes – wet, road, sport, race A and race B – and each can be customised to suit your own preferences. The traction control, slide control, wheelie control, engine braking and ABS can also be adjusted on the fly via the switch block on the left bar.

The cornering ABS alone has seven levels, 1-5 are for track riding, while 6 and 7 are for the road, and they alter the behaviour of the linked rear brake as well as the ABS threshold itself. In level 1, for example, for most extreme track performance, the rear brake automatically maximises its pressure and remains on momentarily after you release the front brake, helping tighten the line into corners. At the other end of the scale, 7 focuses on minimising rear wheel lift and stabilizing deceleration.

The five riding modes similarly range from extreme to tame. Race A, Race B and Sport all offer full power, while Road drops 2hp from 218 to 216hp, and Wet cuts the output to 160hp.

All that is controlled via the same 6.9in TFT dash used on the standard Panigale V4, with a variety of display modes.

Optional equipment includes the Akrapovič pipe – an expensive add-on, but one that’s vital to maximise power – and DAVC Race Pro software that transforms the riding modes to track-oriented ‘slick’ and ‘rain’ settings, as well as allowing the speedo to read figures higher than 299kmh (185mph). You can also specify carbon wheels that save nearly 1kg over the standard forged alloys, as well as a datalogger, the Pro and Pro+ brake packages, Rizoma adjustable pegs, and carbon body parts.

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Rivals

Inevitably, the Panigale V4 R will compete in showrooms against the same homologation specials that rival it on the track – including the likes of BMW’s M1000RR, Honda’s CBR1000RR-R SP, and even Bimota’s KB998 Rimini.

Even rarer than the Panigale V4 R – Bimota only plans to make 500 Riminis over two years – the Bimota packs the same engine as Kawasaki’s ZX-10RR in a machine that’s single-mindedly race focussed.

Then there's the BMW - the machine that broke the previous Panigale V4 R’s WSBK title run - the M1000RR matches the Ducati’s 218hp output and has similarly extreme aero. Meanwhile, Honda’s latest attempt to regain its previous WSBK glory has yet to succeed on that front, but it’s an impressive bike in homologation form and substantially cheaper than its rivals

Bimota KB998 Rimini | Price: £37,777

Read more

Power/Torque

200bhp/81.9lb-ft

Weight

195kg

BMW M1000RR | Price: £32,850

Read more

Power/Torque

218bhp/83.3lb-ft

Weight

183kg

Honda CBR1000RR-R SP | Price: £23,699

Read more

Power/Torque

214.6bhp/83.3lb-ft

Weight

201kg

2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Verdict

While not spec’d quite to the extremes of some cost-no-object Ducatis of the past – think the carbon-framed Superleggera, for example – the new Panigale V4 R looks like a serious step forward from a machine that’s already a regular winner on the WSBK stage. As a high-end road or track toy, little is likely to come close.

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2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R - Technical Specification

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