Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario

The ultimate in two-wheeled Italian exotica gets a birthday limited edition

It's not often that PH covers two-wheeled machines, but it goes to show just how exciting this latest Panigale S is that it's in the newsfeed. An enhanced version of an already sublime bike, it promises to be a highly coveted machine.

New traction control means you can too!

The Panigale S Anniversario has been produced to mark 90 years of Ducati. There will be just 500 made and, quite surprisingly from a car perspective at least, is rather more than just a fancy paint job for the special edition.

On top of the standard Panigale spec - including 205hp at 10,500rpm, in a bike that weighs 166kg dry - this Anniversario also comes with new traction and anti-wheelie controls. Probably a good idea with that power! Named Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) and Ducati Traction Control (DTC) Evo, they aim to make riders safer and faster than ever before.

The traction control works with the Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit, monitoring lean angle so the right amount of rear tyre slip can be metered out. There's a lot about how safe it is, about how the system works near a "line of perfect intervention", but then also about the ability to "dial in additional rear-wheel slip" - this is Ducati after all. With the DTC Evo at its most lenient, Ducati claims the rider has a "level of control formerly available to only the most advanced riders." It essentially allows the rider to throttle on beyond the normal intervention level when lent over, pivoting the bike around its front wheel and tightening the turn. Traction control gets interesting!

Or you could just look at it...

The evolution of the wheelie control uses all new software and controls them "with a high degree of robustness and precision." This sounds more like the German influence... On top of those, the Anniversario comes as standard with a racing kit, comprising an Akrapovic exhaust, billet aluminium block off plates and a cover for the hole left when you take the licence plate holder off. Better take it on track then!

Each Anniversario will be white, black and red, with gold wheels. It will be available from the second half of this month, but there isn't a price announced yet. Best assume quite a lot...