In what will go down as the biggest shift for the company, Ducati officially launched its four-cylinder V4 Desmosedici Stradale powered Panigale V4 just before the EICMA in Milan yesterday. With 214 hp and 91.5 lb-ft of torque, this will be the most powerful bike in its class.

This newfound love for a four-cylinder version of their street bikes which will most probably change the whole dimension within the segment. True to their ways of naming, the Italians have named it as the Desmosedici Stradale engine, and it is going to replace the Superquadro twin-cylinder which is having its final run on the mighty 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

Ducati’s already runs a 90-degree V-four cylinder plant with desmodromic valves on their MotoGP bike and is called as Desmosedici.The same name is now carried on to their new engine that will fit onto the street version’s frame. And ’Stradale’ simply means ’road’ in Italian.

The engine has been developed along with Ducati Corse, the same folks that run the show at MotoGP. The engineers have made sure that this machine will allow the rider to hoon it on the track and the road with all of its 214 hp belting out at 13000 rpm.

The four-pot motor is also road-friendly with it having a larger displacement than the MotoGP counterpart, 1103cc to be exact. This gives in for a healthy mid-range torque and a punchy low-end torque at just 8750 rpm. Maximum torque of 91.5 lb-ft comes at 12500 rpm.

The engineers 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.

The 90° V4 engine will also borrow cues from the Superquadro v-twin engine design elements to get the right packaging and balance, allowing centralization of mass and minimal vibration of the motorcycle. The 90° architecture eliminates the necessity of a balancing countershaft thereby saving weight and complexity.

Just like on the MotoGP machines, the front cylinders are banked at a 42° back from the horizontal which allows the chaps to fix in a much larger and efficient radiator that for optimum cooling. Variable-height air intake optimises according to the rpm to give maximum performance across the power bands.

It will not only be seen on just one model but an entire lineup of high-powered motorcycles Ducati plans to unleash onto the world streets. With this, the company wants to reconquer their World Superbike dreams along with the recent success in their MotoGP stint.

To do that, the company has designed this engine with an 81 mm cylinder bore which is the maximum allowed by MotoGP rules and will become the highest in the four-cylinder machines running in any of the competition. This facilitates the same fluid dynamics architecture as used on the Desmosedici GP engine.

The engine itself has been designed as a structural chassis element with the crankcase acts as a rear suspension and swingarm attachment point. Weighing at just 143 lbs, it is just 5 lbs heavier than the last L-twin on the 1299 Panigale.

The 6-speed gearbox is specially designed for the Desmosedici Stradale engine and features a rotary gear sensor to ensure optimal operation with Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) up & down.

Overall, this is the brand's most technologically sophisticated and compact power-plant ever created that is believed to annihilate anything in the liter class superbike segment. And calling it as Desmosedici Stradale, you know how serious these guys are.

Desmosedici Stradale technical Data

Engine capacity

1103 cc

Engine type

4-cylinder, 90-degree V, Desmodromic part chain, part gear timing with dual overhead camshaft, 4 valves per cylinder

Bore/Stroke in mm

81/53.5

Maximum power

210 hp at 13,000 rpm

Maximum Torque

120 Nm from 8,750 to 12,250 rpm

Firing order

Twin Pulse firing sequence, crank pins offset at 70°

Clutch type

Wet multi-plate anti-pattern servo clutch

Lubrication

Semi-dry sump lubrication with four oil pumps: 1 delivery and 3 return

Transmission

6-speed gearbox with DQS up/down system

Miscellaneous

Euro 4 emissions, Fuelling with four oval throttle bodies (52 mm diameter equivalent) and variable-height intake horns


Ducati is also undertaking advanced development of an 'R' version of this engine that will have a displacement less than 1000 cc but will rev higher than 14000 rpm and produce more power. It will provide the company's Superbike championship dreams with a key for them to open entirely new possibilities.