Ducati has made a bike that pays homage to maddest and baddest Lamborghini to date.
In an ambitious crossover between the world of two wheels and four wheels, Lamborghini and Ducati have recently teamed up and produced a bike in the form of this Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini.
Based on Ducati’s Diavel 1260 S model, this limited run of Lamborghini badged bikes is supposedly to commemorate the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37. As such, this special super bike has been thoroughly reworked by Centro Stile Ducati to make it looks more like the car on which it is supposed to pay homage to.
While minimal (read: none) mechanical alterations have been done to the standard 1260 S, this is far from Ducati just a splashing on some Verde Gea paint and calling it a day though, as this new limited run bike features lightweight forged wheels painted in Oro Electrum too, not to mention lightweight carbon fibre air intakes and radiator covers.
Carbon fibre also makes an appearance on a whole laundry list of other components, including the silencer cover, spoiler, central tank cover, seat cover, front and rear mudguards, dashboard cover and headlight frame.
Nods to the supercar on the superbike extends to the Lamborghini hexagon making an appearance on the exhaust tip and the Sian’s ‘Y’ motif has been integrated into the seat fabric. There is however still some Ducati DNA peeking through in the form of those brake callipers that are painted in Ducati’s signature red.
According to the bumph, this collaboration was born out of both brands representing ‘Italian excellence, sharing values such as sportiness, attention to design and a meticulous devotion to detail’. Reading between the lines however, there is perhaps more to this collaboration than meets the eye, and the clue is in the initials FKP found in the Sián’s name, which incidentally stands for Ferdinand Karl Piëch.
It is common knowledge that it was under the watchful eye of this late Austrian automotive magnate that both these flamboyant Italian marques flourished under the giant German automotive conglomerate that is the Volkswagen Audi Group. Ducati especially was well known to be Ferdinand Piëch’s 75th birthday present. So this project then could also be essentially thought of as a tribute to one of the greatest titans of the automotive industry, from the Italian arm of the conglomerate which he had a large part in taking it to where it is today.
Shrewdly too, this could perhaps also be the one last hurrah for both these brands under its current German custodians. Seeing as how the rumours are swirling around the fate of these two Italian companies that are supposedly in limbo at the moment. Then again none of these speculations have yet to be officially confirmed, regardless of how fitting the story is into the current wider narrative of the state of VAG today.
Getting back to the topic of the bike, only 630 of these Lambo-badged Ducati Diavels will ever be produced. This weirdly specific production number is made clear to be multiple of 10 of the number 63 branded on the side of the bike, which incidentally stands for the year Automobili Lamborghini was founded – 1963.
PRESS RELEASE: Automobili Lamborghini and Ducati announce the Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini: born from the collaboration between two prestigious brands, the motorcycle is made in a limited and numbered edition of 630 units, celebrating the cooperation between the two organisations and appealing to both motorcyclists and collectors from all over the world.
Ducati and Lamborghini both represent Italian excellence, sharing values such as sportiness, attention to design and a meticulous devotion to detail. From this common ground, the Ducati designers’ inspiration for the special project came from one of the Sant’Agata Bolognese company’s most fascinating models: the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37.
Based on the Diavel 1260 S, the concept of the Diavel Lamborghini transfers the core concepts of the Sián FKP 37 to the motorcycle world, redesigning the components that most characterize the Diavel. The new, lightweight forged wheels explicitly recall those of the car, as do the air intakes and radiator covers made of carbon fibre that suggest superimposed floating elements on the main structure of the bike. Finally, the typical Ducati red is referenced by the colouring of the Brembo brake calipers.
Each detail of the bike, redesigned by the Centro Stile Ducati for this specific project, is made of a light and precious material such as carbon fibre, also inspired by the car. In addition to the radiator covers and air intakes, the silencer cover, spoiler, central tank cover, seat cover, front and rear mudguards, dashboard cover and headlight frame are also made of carbon.
“We are convinced that our design is strong and one of the most recognizable in the automotive sector,” says Mitja Borkert, Head of Design of Automobili Lamborghini. “The unique silhouette, clean but extremely distinguished, defines the base of our design language. Our visionary design approach allows us to transfer our DNA to other products: this was achieved through strong teamwork, sharing our style and the advantage of being two brands inspired by the same values and a commitment to ‘fun to drive’ .
“The Ducati Diavel inspired by the Lamborghini Sián celebrates our shared values: we are both Italian, we are inherently sporty and our design always distinguishes our creations,” says Andrea Ferraresi, Director of Ducati Centro Stile. “The Diavel 1260 Lamborghini has been created by using the same design language that distinguishes the Sián FKP 37.”
The livery of the Diavel 1260 Lamborghini is the result of the collaboration between the Centro Stile Ducati and Centro Stile Lamborghini. The paints applied to the bike are the same as those used for the Sián FKP 37, with the bodywork characterized by the Verde (Green) Gea colour, while the frame, undertray and forged rims are embellished with the Oro (Gold) Electrum colour. The important Lamborghini design elements of the hexagon and ‘Y’ motif are evident: this special version of the Diavel pays homage to the former in the shape of the exhaust and the latter in the seat’s aesthetic details.
The livery of this Diavel also sports a ‘63’: an important number for the Sant’Agata Bolognese company that was founded in 1963, and the number that multiplied by ten arrives at the 630 numbered units to be produce by Ducati.
