The wait is finally over folks. Ducati has officially opened up a new phase in motorcycling by launching the new Panigale out to the world that will be powered by their all-new Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine. Similar to the one running on their Desmosedici GP bike and with 214 hp and 91.5 lb-ft of torque, this will be the most powerful bike in its class.

Christened as the Panigale V4, Ducati calls it the ‘new symphony of all Italian performance and emotion.' The cover outside remains seemingly same and so does the name but the story inside is an all-new thriller that is bound to scare the daylights off of anyone trying even to come close to this beast.

To become the new flagship of a brand that only makes the best machines, it’s got to have all the elements deemed only for the numero uno. And thanks to close contact with the folks that run the show at MotoGP, this Panigale V4 sure gets festooned with all the acronym souped technology embedded into its heart and soul that is destined to see it through to the top.

Powering this will be the brand’s most technologically sophisticated and compact power-plant ever created that is believed to annihilate anything in the liter class superbike segment. The crazy new ‘Desmosedici Stradale’ 1103cc plant screams at the top of its voice at 14000 rpm and pumps out a mighty 214 hp at 13000 rpm. Add the all-titanium Akrapovič racing exhaust, and you can boost the power to 226 hp.

That beastly engine is what separates this new generation of superbikes from the Superquadro twin-cylinder machines which is having its final run on the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition. Unlike the V-twin, the V4 gets counter-rotating crankshaft that improves handling and directional agility whenever the rider accelerates or brakes hard.

The engineers from Ducati Corse have tuned this to have a ’twin-pulse’ firing sequence which will give this Desmosedici Stradale its unique exhaust note; thanks to the 70° offset of the crank pins. Sounding similar to Aprilia’s RSV4, this V4 from Ducati will also make use of the “big bang” effect for maximum traction while exiting a corner.

If you think those two additional cylinders will end up making the bike heavier than the 1299 Panigale, you are absolutely right. But if you think that Ducati will let that slip by, you need to confess that you sinned.

Starting with the new ‘Front Frame,' it's more compact and lighter than the perimeter frame and uses the engine as a stressed chassis element. This ensures heightened rigidity and feel of the bike and with the use of meticulous design and light materials, the V4 tips the scale at just 430 lbs (17 lbs more than the 1299 Panigale). This puts the power to weight ratio at 1:1, and this is going to make the V4 trump everyone in the segment.

Coming to electronics, the V4 is graduated to an even higher degree of wizardry, again gaining from the Ducati Corse touch. Providing MotoGP experience to the rider, the bike makes use of the Bosch 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (6D IMU) and a bunch of other latest-generation electronics packages with some previously unseen features.

Debuting here are the controlled drift during braking and ABS Cornering on the front wheel which takes into account lean angles and optimises corner exit performance. Other packages included on this V4 are three new Riding Modes (Race, Sport and Street), Ducati Traction Control EVO (DTC EVO), Ducati Slide Control (DSC), Ducati Wheelie Control EVO (DWC EVO), Ducati Power Launch (DPL), Ducati Quick Shift up/down EVO (DQS EVO), Engine Brake Control EVO (EBC EVO) and Ducati Electronic Suspension EVO (DES EVO).

Controlling the rise and fall from the massive acceleration and baking will be the 43mm Showa Big Piston Fork (BPF) at the front and fully adjustable Sachs shock at the rear. A Sachs steering damper completes the front-end package. New lightweight Brembo Stylema monobloc calipers are the evolution of the M50 and handle the decelerations pretty well.

The new 5" full-TFT dashboard gets configured with a new interface with two levels: Track mode focussing on lap time indicator and Road mode with the Ducati Multimedia System (DMS) information along with all the other tell-tales.

The V4 Panigale also comes in two special editions: The Panigale V4 S and the Panigale V4 Speciale. The V4 S gets everything from the standard V4 but gets kitted with a higher spec suspension setup like the Öhlins NIX-30 forks, Öhlins TTX 36 shock absorber, Öhlins steering damper with Öhlins Smart EC 2.0 system, aluminum forged wheels and Lithium-ion battery.

The limited edition (only 1500 units) Panigale V4 Speciale ups the ante even higher than the V4 S with a "Speciale" colour scheme, Carbon fibre front/rear mudguards, identification number on a solid machined plate, Alcantara seats, dedicated handle grips, adjustable foot pegs, carbon fiber heel guard and cover swinging arm, racing articulated levers, brake level protection, race spec Akrapovic exhaust system, racing screen, Ducati Data Analyser+ GPS (DDA + GPS), Racing fuel tank cap and mirror replacement plugs.

Phew! That is a long list of top quality stuff packed between two Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tires. Can that be enough to make this the best motorcycle in the segment? It looks like we need to abide for just a couple of more days to find out. EICMA is here, and every other manufacturer will showcase their best productions.

But knowing Ducati, I think their new flagship model has already scared the competition and is on the pedestal to become 2018’s biggest blockbuster in the motorcycle world.

US pricing and availability is still at large, but the European V4 will retail at £19,250, the V4 S at £23,895 and the V4 Speciale at £34,995. Expect them here anytime after April 2018.