Ducati brings hot 959 Panigale to India for Rs 14 lakh

Ducati India, the local arm of the iconic Italian motorcycle maker, has unveiled its liquid-cooled, twin-cylinder, 157bhp, 955cc sportsbike – the 959 Panigale – in Goa today on the sidelines of the ongoing India Bike Week.

According to an official release from the company, the model will be launched with a price tag of Rs 14,04,000, ex-showroom, Delhi NCR. The official release also states that while the company has opened bookings for the 959 Panigale model across its dealerships from today, it will be available from July 2016.

Ravi Avalur, managing director of Ducati India, said: “We are very excited to bring the new super-mid Ducati superbike to India. The Ducati 959 Panigale is the perfect balance between impressive design and breath-taking performance and it embodies Ducati’s premium sportsbike culture."

The 959 Panigale, which borrows styling features from its bigger sibling, the 1299 Panigale, will come under the category of 1000cc superbikes, and will most likely compete with BMW Motorrad’s S1000RR, Honda’s CBR1000RR, Kawasaki’s ZX-10R and Ninja 1000, Suzuki’s GSX-S1000F, Yamaha’s YZF-R1 and other options.

Built on a monocoque aluminium frame the Ducati 959 Panigale boats of high-end electronics including full LCD instrument display panel, multiple riding modes, Bosch ABS, ride-by-wire throttle bodies and others.

The company is also looking at expanding its footprint in India, and will soon announce a new dealership besides its already existing stores in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Ducati, which is known to have an assembly plant in Thailand where it assembles motorcycles for the Asian markets, sells its products under Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada, Scrambler, Streetfighter and Superbike model families.