Ducati has unveiled the brand’s first-ever electric motorcycle, designed to be a challenger for the MotoE 2023 season. Dubbed the “V21L,” the new prototype retains much of the Italian superbike producer’s design language but swaps out its various body panels with weight-saving carbon fiber catered to track racing.
Powered by an 18kWh battery that can charge up to 80% in just 45 minutes, the bike pushes out 150 horsepower through its single electric motor and has reportedly reached speeds of 171 mph at the Mugello MotoGP circuit in Tuscany. The motorcycle is also extremely light: coming in at just 496 pounds, the prototype is 77 pounds lighter than the current generation Energica motorcycles used in this season’s MotoE championship and 26 pounds lighter than the 2023 specifications.
“Racing competition represents the ideal terrain on which to develop innovative technologies that will then transfer to production motorcycles,” said Ducati’s director of research and development Vincenzo De Silvio. “At this moment, the most important challenges in this field remain those related to the size, weight, autonomy of the batteries and the availability of the charging networks. Ducati’s experience in the FIM MotoE World Cup will be a fundamental support for product R&D, together with the physiological evolution of technology and chemistry. Helping the company’s internal expertise to grow is already essential today to be ready when the time comes to put the first street electric Ducati into production.”
Elsewhere in the automotive world, Hyundai has unveiled its long-awaited IONIQ 6 electric sedan.
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