Audi new owners of Ducati

[Nish]

VW just confirmed that a purchase of Ducati has been finalized by Audi.

http://jalopnik.com/5903083/why-audi-just-bought-ducati

 

[ExigeEvan]

Can't wait to see the Ducatti Quattro

 

[Organ-Donor]

I read this, something about aquiring for $1.1 Billion?
Lol@Exige

 

[Robin]

Can't wait to see the Ducatti Quattro

Don't you mean Dos?!

I don't see why more manufacturers don't do 2 wheel drive bikes, there are a few out there.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I don't see why more manufacturers don't do 2 wheel drive bikes, there are a few out there.

Considerable weight gain and complexity for little gain.

 

[RocZX]

VW/Audi purchased Ducati just to say they own a motorbike company.

Hopefully they don't do change anything about Ducati.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Growth through acquisition... I don't mean in terms of numbers, but their portfolio of products.

 

[eSZee]

Don't you mean Dos?!

I don't see why more manufacturers don't do 2 wheel drive bikes, there are a few out there.

Due. Dos is spanish.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Please change the title to the correct spelling, Ducati. Otherwise you look an idiot.

 

[Omnis]

Audi changed the name to DucaTTi.

 

[AJ11]

Jeez VW bought everything! Let's see VW, Audi,Lamborghini,Bugatti,ducati, I know they have ties with Volvo and there's 2 smaller manufactures in the UK they own as well. I'm sure I missing one. Wasn't the v8 in the first Audi r8 a Volvo motor

 

[Dan_]

Does that mean I'll be able to swap a Ducati engine into an Up? The Up Multistrada 1199?

Well, considering sales volume alone I'd say that's a pretty irrelevant move by VW, since the contribution of Ducati to the results would be quite small, the money would be better spent in another factory in Asia.

However, if by that move VW plans to gain know-how of the motorcycle industry and intends to create a budget brand to sell low-priced bikes in mass volumes, then it's a smart move. World domination is quite VW'ish nowadays.

Jeez VW bought everything! Let's see VW, Audi,Lamborghini,Bugatti,ducati, I know they have ties with Volvo and there's 2 smaller manufactures in the UK they own as well. I'm sure I missing one. Wasn't the v8 in the first Audi r8 a Volvo motor

Volkswagen AG is composed of VW, Skoda, Seat, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, VW Commercial Vehicles, Scania, MAN and they also have a massive stake on Porsche AG.

EDIT: They are also 'partners' of Suzuki Motors.

In summary, you may expect VW pants for christmas.

 

[AJ11]

Bentley that's what I was missing! Yea loved how they made a VW with the w12 motor think it was the avant or something for 80gs. Then they announced they were making a 2 door version and slapped a Bentley logo on it and sold it for twice the price. You know it as the continental gt. They are literally the same car.

Was I right about the r8 having a Volvo motor? The fist version the v8? I know the new v10 has the lambo motor

 

[Pupik]

Please change the title to the correct spelling, Ducati. Otherwise you look an idiot.

Please discard your thinly-veiled insults. He didn't spell it with three z's, an f, or with an underscore.

 

[Omnis]

Foo-cati ZZZ is the chinese moped.

 

[Dan_]

Was I right about the r8 having a Volvo motor?

As far as I know, no.

The 4.2 32v in the R8 is a modernized version of Audi's own 4.2 50v V8. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees and it uses the well-know Fuel Stratified Injection technology. Pretty neat motor, I'd say.

Volvo's own V8 displaces 4.4 liters and the vee draws a 60 degree angle. People say it's loosely based on Ford's SHO V8. It was co-developed with Yamaha.

Sorry for the off-topic.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Please discard your thinly-veiled insults. He didn't spell it with three z's, an f, or with an underscore.

How is that an insult? If you misspell a fairly common name in a public forum, you look like an idiot. I didn't say he was, I just said he looked like one. Or do you encourage these kinds of things?

 

[Pupik]

How is that an insult? If you misspell a fairly common name in a public forum, you look like an idiot. I didn't say he was, I just said he looked like one. Or do you encourage these kinds of things?

Obviously I discourage your holier-than-thou attitude over someone who misspelled a proper noun by a single letter. We discourage intentional misspellings of common words.

Perhaps we can find one tiny error in your 1700 posts, and call you names. But that's not GTPlanet.

 

[nitrorocks]

I wonder why Audi bought them out? Silver Ducatis....

 

[Northstar]

Who would have thought VAG would be in MotoGP before F1.

 

[Nish]

Obviously I discourage your holier-than-thou attitude over someone who misspelled a proper noun by a single letter. We discourage intentional misspellings of common words.

Perhaps we can find one tiny error in your 1700 posts, and call you names. But that's not GTPlanet.

I'm not worried about it , though I am wondering where it is a fairly common name other than on motorcycle forums.

VW is grabbing up every high class company it can get its hands on it seems, I was disappointed when Audi basically turned Lamborghini into an Italian Audi but at least they brought them way up in sales in the last 10 years. I've never seen 1 Ducati on the road in my life thus far maybe they look to change this.

 

[ExigeEvan]

VW is grabbing up every high class company it can get its hands on it seems, I was disappointed when Audi basically turned Lamborghini into an Italian Audi but at least they brought them way up in sales in the last 10 years. I've never seen 1 Ducati on the road in my life thus far maybe they look to change this.

Lamborghinis, in my opinion, are perfectly placed these days.

Great, design-lead cars that have the performance to impress but also the safety and reliability for their target market. Rich people with little driving ability.

I've seen quite a lot of Ducatti road bikes, they're not all that rare in the UK, it'll be interesting to see what, if anything changes.

 

[Nish]

I see tons of Honda's and Kawasaki's but hardly any Yamaha's, so far no Ducati's and only 2 BMW's I've seen. Is it possible to power a decent sized car out of Ducati's engines (thinking Lotus sized), does Ducati do anything out of the norm in way of technology? or does Audi just want to own a high class Italian company, how much could they help Ducati with it's brand (I'm sure the 1.12 billion has already helped). Could they find a way to make the diesel motorcycle engines something that could be useful in racing to outclass the competition?

 

[Cano]

Oddest piece of news I've seen in months. What for?

 

[TheCracker]

If Audi can do to Ducati what they've done for Lamborghini, then this can be a very good thing for them. Rationalizing production techniques and adding some German reliability and quality of finish will do them no harm at all. Now as part of the VAG family, they'll also have a level of stability in ownership that they've not had in a long time, they've been passed around like an Amsterdam hooker for the passed two decades or so.

Quite what it benefits Audi/VAG is less obvious. But there must be something in the the financial model for them.

 

[daan]

Desmosedici is one of my favourite words.

I'll just post it here as I never get to use it very often...

 

[Luminis]

From Autoblog:

Tellingly, Audi also points to certain technologies developed by Ducati – particularly their control systems, combustion chamber process and competence in lightweight construction – as particular assets that "offer great potential for AUDI AG and the Volkswagen Group."

 

[MatskiMonk]

Maybe this has been getting to VAG...

^ mmm, me likey...

 

[niky]

Who are they kidding? Ducati's experience in lightweight construction is in building tubular trellis frame bikes. Their combustion chamber and Desmodromic technology are a quaint mix of old-school and high tech, and won't be particularly useful on car engines and the "progressive control systems"... what does that even mean? Is Ducati the answer to "Sudden Unintended Acceleration?"

Ducati doesn't have anything unique but V-Twins with springless valve-systems and open clutches. They don't even have entry level bikes below 600ccs for the all-important "emerging markets."

They're buying Ducati for bragging rights, period. The brand doesn't even need saving, like Lamborghini did, having expanded into over a dozen new markets over the past two years and selling more bikes than ever.

Considerable weight gain and complexity for little gain.

I recall one manufacturer experimenting with two-wheel drive in the Dakar some years ago... back when it was still run from Paris to Dakar... and the bikes were visibly more stable in deep sand. Don't think the system has any other use, though... And it won't be particularly useful on a road bike.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I recall one manufacturer experimenting with two-wheel drive in the Dakar some years ago... back when it was still run from Paris to Dakar... and the bikes were visibly more stable in deep sand. Don't think the system has any other use, though... And it won't be particularly useful on a road bike.

Exactly, it probably has use in extreme adventuring, but even then the trade off is considerable increased complexity and aren't motorbikes just great because there's so much less to go worry about in the first place!