DUCATI PANIGALE V4S

It was a throwaway comment by Chappo, the snapper, as he was taking the static pictures of the Panigale.

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“It really is really red, innit?” And once I'd stopped mocking him for stating the obvious, I paused to muse on this. As simple and obvious as it was, what he said was actually an interesting observation. The Ducati is just red; there’s no other colours anywhere on any part of its bodywork, and you can’t even order it in any other colour apart from... red, which apart from being able to wheel out all the usual clichés of red being the colour of passion and associated with all things Italian, I prefer the concept of less is more.

There are definitely fewer colours on the Ducati than the others, fewer pinstripe lines, fewer graphics and fewer slots in the panels — but there is a LOT more theatre and a LOT more presence than the others, and that’s before you get to the spec sheet. The Panigale has more horsepower, more torque, more electronic tech, more cutting-edge engineering in its electronics, chassis and engine, more capacity in its V4 engine, and a much bigger price tag. That's the thing about the Panigale - it doesn’t have to try and look fast or interesting, with a choice of graphics and colours, because it just is fast. Fast in a way that one day, hopefully long after I have left this earth, will probably be deemed illegal, not just for being mind-bendingly quick, but mostly for making it so easy to do so.