Carbon Fiber Everything: Meet the Ducati 1299 Superleggera

Casey Stoner and Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali introduce the new 1299 Superleggera at the EIMCA Motorcycle Show in Milan, Italy.

Ducati sure loves carbon fiber. So much that its fabricating the entire chassis, aside from the fuel tank (aluminum), on its top-of-the-line Superbike from the material. From nose to tail, and even underneath, the 1299 Superlegerra is dressed entirely in composite.

Renowned for its high tensile strength as its awesome look, the carbon fiber clad and U.S. bound Superlegerra weighs just 363.7 pounds with fluids. For reference, that’s under the current minimum weight requirement in the FIM World Superbike series (370 pounds).

Even in street-legal trim, the 1299 Superleggera weighs less than the current minimum weight requirement in World Superbike.

Powering Ducati’s latest plus-sized Superbike monster is an updated 1285cc Superquadro L-Twin that continues to boast an obscenely oversquare bore/stroke measurements, plus a new sand-cast engine case making it even more of a featherweight.

Redesigned pistons boost compression ratio by almost half a point to 13:1. The aluminum jugs move inside redesigned cylinder sleeves and are fed via larger diameter Desmo-powered titanium valves. To ensure an ultra-responsive engine, titanium connection rods were sourced and the mass of the crankshaft has been reduced as well.

All told, Ducati claims 215 horsepower at a lofty (for at Twin) 11,000 rpm. Perhaps even more astounding is the torque rating: 108 lb-ft delivered at 9000 revs from the crank.

The 1299 Superleggera replaces the 1199 version introduced two years ago.

Of course a modern Ducati isn’t a Ducati without the proverbial kitchen sink of electronics. The Italian brand has an overhauled traction control system denoted by a ‘EVO’ designation that now integrates slide and launch control. The Bosch-sourced Cornering ABS setup was also re-calibrated, but Ducati didn’t go into exact detail.

Five hundred units are to be stamped out of the Bologna factory. Although street legal, the motorcycle will ship with a “track kit” comprised of a full-Ti Akrapovic race pipe, windscreen, license plate, kickstand and mirror removal kits. Ducati Corse-branded front and rear stands are also included as is a bike cover. U.S. pricing is $80,000.