The world's most powerful two-cylinder engine lies at the heart of the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition (FE)
. A liquid-cooled, four-stroke L-twin displacing 1,285cc, this two-cylinder engine features 116mm diameter cylinder bores and a 60.8mm crankshaft stroke. The engine's remarkably high bore to stroke ratio earned it the name Superquadro in Italian, which translates to oversquare in English.Rated as one of the fastest Ducati motorcycles ever built, the Ducati 1299 Panigale R FE posts an impressive
top speed approaching 190 mph or 306 km/h, according to Motorcycle News. We'd be remiss not to note here that any motorcycle at this level is likely to suffer from manufacturer-imposed limitations on potential top speeds. While the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition isn't recognized as the fastest Ducati motorcycle ever made, it has the distinction of being powered by the most powerful two-cylinder engine in the world.
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What's Special About The 1299 Panigale R Final Edition's Engine?
The 1,285cc Ducati Superquadro engine that provides the driving force for the 1299 Panigale R FE puts out a world-class 209.4 horsepower at 11,000 rpm and 104.7 lb-ft of torque at 9,000 rpm. Some of the specs that make those impressive numbers happen include the engine's 13.0:1 compression ratio and the Mitsubishi electronic fuel injection system featuring two injectors per cylinder. Another contributing factor is Ducati's Desmodromic valve system.
That desmodromic valve system is often cited as the reason Ducati's are some of the best-sounding motorcycles ever made, and it controls valve timing exceptionally. The design works with minimal friction and no high rpm valve-float, unlike methods that employ valve springs. Instead of valve springs that push the valves closed after being opened by camshaft-driven rocker arms, the desmodromic system uses one cam to open each valve and another to close it. While the system allows for very high rpm operation, it requires periodic specialized maintenance known as Desmo Service.
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