Whether you realize it or not, every motorcycle OEM has a specific, often trademarked color it uses everywhere from branding to the liveries on its bikes. Yamaha Blue is very much a thing, for example, as is Kawasaki Green. Harley has its orange and black, which is different than KTM orange, and Husqvarna proudly displays the blue and yellow in honor of its Swedish roots.
Of course, you can’t talk about Ducati without talking about Ducati Red. It’s visually distinct from Honda Red, different from MV Agusta red, and different from GasGas red, in ways that a qualified colorimetrist (that’s a color scientist, and they do exist) would probably be able to explain in detail. For those of us who aren’t trained color scientists, though, it’s safe to say that if you’re able to see colors in the first place, you can probably differentiate between those reds easily.
That’s also not to say that Ducati shies away from experimenting with shades that aren’t its signature red hue—far from it, in fact. Ducati Yellow might just as readily be associated with the brand as its preferred shade of red. At the same time, neither Ducati’s red nor its yellow are the same as fellow Italian Motor Valley neighbor Ferrari’s own distinctive shades of red and yellow.
Gallery: 2024 Ducati Panigale V2
Thus, the 2024 Ducati Panigale V2, which the team from Borgo Panigale formally introduced to the world on June 6, 2023. Although you can still get it in Ducati Red if you like, the bold new design from Bologna for this season is its Black-On-Black livery. “I see a red bike and I want to paint it black,” may possibly what someone at Ducati said. (Or “vedo una moto rossa e la voglio dipinta di nero,” if Google Translate is to be believed; take your pick.)
The new Black-On-Black livery stands in stark contrast to Ducati Red—and also to the Iceberg White liveries that Bologna has previously introduced on the 2024 SuperSport 950 S and the 2024 Monster. Scientifically speaking, black is considered the absence of light—so anyone who wants to approximate black as a color must twist themselves into theoretical pretzels to achieve the darkest possible paint (and not upset Anish Kapoor in the process). White, meanwhile, contains all possible colors—so it’s really every color, everywhere, all at once—yes, including Ducati Red.
Other than the new livery, the 2024 Panigale V2 stays mechanically the same. It’s powered by a 955cc V-twin, and the Panigale V2 lineup are currently the only twins in Ducati’s 2024 range. It makes a claimed 155 horsepower at 10,750 rpm, alongside 76.7 pound-feet of torque at 9,000 rpm.
Pricing and availability will vary by region. In the US and Canada, Ducati says that the 2024 Panigale V2 should start rolling into dealerships sometime in Q3 of 2023. The US MSRP starts at $18,595, and the Canadian MSRP starts at $20,895.
