They say that when you end the show, you must do it with a bang. Ducati->ke622 here seems to just know how to conclude their greatest show of all time, the Panigale. Amidst the beautiful setup of Pebble Beach, California, the Italian brand unveiled their final adieu to the L-twins with the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

Aptly named, this last one gets all the bells and whistles some of which made headlines with the 1299 Panigale, the Panigale R and the 1299 Superleggera. Apart from being a pretty Tri-colour paint job, it gets an upgraded engine and other mechanicals that takes the superbike to new levels of lust. At $40,000 it will also be the second most powerful twin-cylinder engine to run on American streets (after the Superleggera of course).

The folks at Ducati have given all their muscle at getting the most out of the Panigale brand, and for the last mile, they have been fired on all pistons to create another masterpiece that will be an insignia of sorts for the brand’s history. This Final Edition marks the end of an era of twin cylinder monster machines that have always managed to take the breath out of anyone wanting to throw a leg around them.

The 1299 Panigale Final Edition continues to capture that legacy and give the world another go on the most powerful Panigale ever. How? Well, it almost uses the same engine used on the mammoth Superleggera, and the chassis continues to be the same aluminium monocoque structure as the Panigale R.

The Superquadro twin cylinder engine of the Superleggera makes a crazy 215 bhp of power and 108 lb-ft of torque. Our ‘final’ Panigale R, on the other hand, comes very close to this with an insane 209.5 bhp and 77 lb-ft of torque. That is a cool 4 bhp and 3 lb-ft more than the current flagship Panigale. There are no titanium fasteners, and the barrels have steel liners rather than aluminium ones in the Superleggera.

Nonetheless, this ’final’ Panigale will be a different performer whole together since it weighs 26 lbs more than the Superleggera. This is mainly because the chassis is still made up of aluminium version and not the all-carbon monocoque of the Superleggera. Ohlins 43mm USD forks and a TTX36 monoshock make up the suspension units, and the Brembo M50 monobloc callipers on the three-spoke forged alloy wheels can handle all the forces on this Final Edition.

What stands out is that Tri-colour livery and the titanium Akrapovic exhaust. Although the red alloys might not be Ducati’s signature, the tricolore paint is. As seen before on the Ducati 1199 Panigale S Tricolore, it showcases homage to the country it is born in and because both Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri will be wearing this on their WorldSBK Ducati Corse. The exhaust unit style too is shared on the WorldSBK bike.

You of course get all the abbreviations and electronic rider aides including DWC EVO (wheelie control), EBC (engine braking), DQS (quick shifter and autoblipper), DTC EVO (traction control), DDA (data logger) all of which is managed by the IMU (brain). All of which comes with a $40,000 price tag, which to be dodgy is less than half of what you pay for a Superleggera.

Ducati says that this will be a numbered superbike rather than being ‘limited’. What this means is that each bike will be given a special production number that will be engraved on the triple clamp. Ducati will keep on making the Final Edition for its customers as long as there is demand and each of them will be numbered.

We must accept the end of something in order to build something new that can take you past that feeling. It is becoming ever so difficult for Ducati to adhere to the rules package in most of the World Superbike Championships the Panigale is currently in competition; its v-twin superbikes will soon lose out to the four-cylinder counterparts. Luckily, the Italian company is also churning out a new V-4 superbike as we speak.

It will replace the L-twin powered Panigale and become the flag bearer of the Italian company. But that is only going to debut later this year, at the EICMA show in Milan. Until then, this Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition will remain the flagship for the Italian manufacturer.