A hundred years after its beginnings, Ducati has looked back on its own design language, and it did so in a place with a long history of its own. At the 22nd edition of the Autostyle Design Competition, held on 8 and 9 October in the Abbey of Polirone in San Benedetto Po near Mantua, the company from Borgo Panigale was the only motorcycle manufacturer taking part. It used its centenary year to show how its design has evolved from 1926 to the present day.
A meeting place for designers
Autostyle is organised by Berman S.p.A. and for more than twenty years it has brought together designers from leading car makers and other industries. They share experience, present new projects and talk about where design is heading. A fixed part of the event belongs to the next generation: an international competition recognises the best projects by students from schools and universities around the world.
A motorcycle maker in this circle fits the way the company sees itself. Ducati stresses the central role that design plays in its philosophy and the great importance it places on the education of young people.
A hundred years in a handful of models
Andrea Ferraresi, Ducati Strategy and Centro Stile Director, and Senior Designer Mirko Pocobello used a selection of models to walk through the key milestones. They showed how the design language has changed over the decades while staying true to three core values, which the brand names Style, Sophistication and Performance.
That trio explains why a motorcycle from Bologna holds its own at a design event among big names from the car world. It is not only about engineering, but about proportion, line and presence.
Superleggera V4 Centenario: form and engineering side by side
As the most recent expression of these values, Ducati displayed the Superleggera V4 Centenario together with its mechanical base. Visitors could see at a glance what one of the founding principles of Ducati design means: the fusion of style and functionality. Standing in front of the frame and engine without bodywork, they could compare the lines of the finished bike with the engineering underneath.
The motorcycle was unveiled in March and is limited to 500 numbered units. Ducati describes it as the most extreme road legal motorcycle ever created in Borgo Panigale.
Rosso Centenario, the colour of the anniversary
The Rosso Centenario livery catches the eye. Ducati developed it to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and it served as the inspiration for the official liveries of the Desmosedici GP in MotoGP and the Panigale V4 R in Superbike. A single shade of red therefore links the road bike with the racing machines of the house.
Design with distinction
Ducati describes its design as a combination of sophisticated engineering, beautiful forms and Italian sporting style, with the aim of building motorcycles that stir emotions. Over the years this approach has earned the company numerous awards: the historic Italian Compasso d'Oro, the European iF Design Award and Red Dot Design Award, and the Good Design Award, one of the best known international design awards, presented in the United States.
For anyone who experiences Italy through its design, the appearance shows how naturally history and the present meet here: an abbey as the stage, a motorcycle as the exhibit and an audience talking about lines, colours and proportions.
