История Ducati: от "Cucciolo" до мирового бренда

Italian motorcycle manufacturer

Ducati is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Audi, itself owned by the Volkswagen Group. Nonetheless it maintained production. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm SIATA (Società Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called the "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy," in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public. The first Cucciolos were available alone, to be mounted on standard bicycles, by the buyer; however, businessmen soon bought the little engines in quantity, and offered complete motorized bicycle units for sale. In 1950, after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, in collaboration with SIATA, the Ducati firm finally offered its own Cucciolo based motorcycle. This first Ducati motorcycle was a 48 cc bike weighing , with a top speed of , and had a giving just under Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo name in favor of "55M" and "65TL". When the market moved toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond, making an impression at an early 1952 Milan show, introducing their 65TS cycle and Cruiser (a four stroke motor scooter). Despite being described as the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success, and only a few thousand were made over a two year period before the model ceased production. In 1953, management split the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its diverging motorcycle and electronics product lines. Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production to 120 bikes a day. In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the fastest 250 cc road bike then available, the Mach 1. In the 1970s Ducati began producing motorcycles with large displacement V twin engines, which Ducati branded as "L twin" for their 90° angle, and in 1973, introduced their trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles with the "Cagiva" name. By the time the purchase was completed, Cagiva kept the "Ducati" name on its motorcycles. Eleven years later, in 1996, Cagiva accepted the offer from Texas Pacific Group and sold a 51% stake in the company for US$325 million; then, in 1998, Texas Pacific Group bought most of the remaining 49% to become the sole owner of Ducati. In 1999, TPG issued an initial public offering of Ducati stock and renamed the company "Ducati Motor Holding SpA". TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati, leaving TPG the majority shareholder. In December 2005, Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacific's stake (minus one share) to Investindustrial Holdings, the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi. In April 2012, Volkswagen Group's Audi subsidiary announced its intention to buy Ducati for €$860,000,000.00 (US$$1,200,000,000.00). Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a motorcycle enthusiast, had long coveted Ducati, and had regretted that he passed up an opportunity to buy the company from the Italian government in 1984. Analysts doubted a tiny motorcycle maker would have a meaningful effect on a company the size of Volkswagen, commenting that the acquisition has "a trophy feel to it," and, "is driven by VW's passion for nameplates rather than industrial or financial logic". Italian luxury car brand Lamborghini was strengthened under VW ownership. AUDI AG's Automobili Lamborghini S. p. A. subsidiary acquired 100 percent of the shares of Ducati Motor Holding S. p. A. on 19 July 2012 for €$747,000,000.00 (US$$909,323,100.00). 1973–1978 – Headed by Cristiano de Eccher
1978–1985 – VM Group
1985–1996 – Cagiva Group
1996–2005 – Texas Pacific Group (US based) ownership and going public
Headed by CEO Federico Minoli, 1996–2001; returning for 2003–2007
2005–2008 – Investindustrial Holdings S. p. A. 2008–2012 – Performance Motorcycles S. p. A. An investment vehicle formed by Investindustrial Holdings, BS Investimenti and Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan
19 July 2012 – present – Automobili Lamborghini S. p. A.]] From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Spanish company MotoTrans licensed Ducati engines and produced motorcycles that, although they incorporated subtle differences, were clearly Ducati derived. MotoTrans's most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas (Spanish for "24 hours").

Ducati is best known for high performance motorcycles characterized by large capacity four stroke, 90° V twin engines, with a desmodromic valve design. Ducati branded his configuration as L twin because one cylinder is vertical while the other is horizontal, making it look like a letter "L". Ducati's desmodromic valve design is nearing its 50th year of use. Desmodromic valves are closed with a separate, dedicated cam lobe and lifter instead of the conventional valve springs used in most internal combustion engines in consumer vehicles. This allows the cams to have a more radical profile, thus opening and closing the valves more quickly without the risk of valve float, which causes a loss of power that is likely when using a "passive" closing mechanism under the same conditions. While most other manufacturers use wet clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in oil) Ducati previously used multiplate dry clutches in many of their motorcycles. The dry clutch eliminates the power loss from oil viscosity drag on the engine, even though the engagement may not be as smooth as the oil bath versions, but the clutch plates can wear more rapidly. Ducati has converted to wet clutches across their current product lines. Ducati also extensively uses a trellis frame, although Ducati's MotoGP project broke with this tradition by introducing a revolutionary carbon fibre frame for the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

The chief designer of most Ducati motorcycles in the 1950s was Fabio Taglioni (1920–2001). His designs ranged from the small single cylinder machines that were successful in the Italian 'street races' to the large capacity twins of the 1980s. Ducati introduced the Pantah in 1979; its engine was updated in the 1990s in the Ducati SuperSport (SS) series. All modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which uses a toothed belt to actuate the engine's valves. Taglioni used the Cavallino Rampante (identified with the Ferrari brand) on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni chose this emblem of courage and daring as a sign of respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a World War I fighter pilot who died during an air raid in 1918.

In addition to manufacturing two wheelers, Ducati also assembled Triumph Heralds for sale in the Italian market in their Borgo Panigale plant beginning in early 1963.

In 1973, Ducati commemorated its 1972 win at the Imola 200 with the production model green frame Ducati 750 SuperSport. Ducati also targeted the offroad market with the two stroke Regolarità 125, building 3,486 models from 1975 to 1979, but the bike was not successful. In 1975, the company introduced the 860 GT, designed by noted car stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro. Its angular lines were unique, but raised handlebars made for an uncomfortable seating position at high speeds and also caused steering issues. The 860GT's angular styling was a sales disaster, and it was hurriedly re designed for the 1976 season with a more rounded fuel tank. In 1975 Ducati offered hand built production racers, the 'square case' 750SS and later 900SS models, built in limited numbers. Sales of the 900SS proved so strong, and sales of the 860GT/GTE/GTS so weak, that production of the 900SS was ramped up, and it became Ducati's #1 selling model.

Ducati's liquid cooled, multi valve 90° V twins, made from 1985 on, are known as Desmoquattro ("desmodromic valve four"). These include the 851, 916 and 996, 999 and a few predecessors and derivatives. The Ducati Paso was introduced in 1986 with the Paso 750, followed in 1989 with the Paso 906. The final version came in 1991 with the 907IE (Iniezione Elettronica), now without the name "Paso". The design was from the hand of Massimo Tamburini, who also designed the Ducati 916 and MV Agusta F4. The Paso was a typical "you love it, you hate it" bike. However, at that time it looked like that all enclosed bodywork would be the future for all motorcycles. The Paso design was copied for the Moto Morini Dart 400 and Cagiva Freccia 125. Together with Tamburini's Bimota DB1, they were enormously influential in terms of styling.

In 1993, Miguel Angel Galluzzi introduced the Ducati Monster, a naked bike with exposed trellis and engine. Today the Monster accounts for almost half of the company's worldwide sales. The Monster has undergone the most changes of any motorcycle that Ducati has ever produced. In 1993, Pierre Terblanche, Massimo Bordi and Claudio Domenicali designed the Ducati Supermono. A 550 cc single cylinder lightweight "Catalog Racer". Only 67 were built between 1993 and 1997. In 1994, the company introduced the Ducati 916 model designed by Massimo Tamburini, a water cooled version that allowed for higher output levels and a striking new bodywork that had aggressive lines, an underseat exhaust, and a single sided swingarm. Ducati has since ceased production of the 916, supplanting it (and its progeny, the 748, 996 and 998) with the 749 and 999.

A key part of Ducati's marketing strategy since the 1990s has been fostering a distinct community identity in connection with branding efforts including online communities and local, regional, and national Ducati enthusiast clubs. There are more than 400 Ducati clubs worldwide and 20,000 registered users of the Ducati Owners Club web site and 17,000 subscribers to the racing web site. Enthusiasts and riders are informally referred to in the motorcycling community as Ducatista (singular) or Ducatisti (plural). In North America there are several Ducati enthusiasts organizations with varying degrees of factory sponsorship, such as the Bay Area Desmo Owners Club (BADOC) located in and around the city of San Francisco, CA. Ducati Riders of Illinois (DRILL) located in Chicago, IL. DESMO, the Ducati Enthusiast Sport Motorcycle Organization, is a North American group affiliated with the factory Desmo Owners Club. Some groups are focused on vintage Ducatis while several are based primarily or entirely on email discussion lists or web forums.

Ducati has a wide range of accessories, lifestyle products and co branded merchandise bearing their logos and designs. The company has a licensing agreement with Tumi Inc., launching a collection of eight co branded luggage pieces in 2006, sold through both of the brands' retail outlets.

Ducati's history with motorsport began with speed records on Cucciolo motorized bicycle factory racers in 1951, followed in 1954 with bringing in Fabio Taglioni to found a road racing program with the 100 Gran Sport. as of 2009, Ducati was still pursuing the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" business model and spending 10% of company revenues, €$40,000,000.00, on its racing business.