Audi buys Ducati

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:30 pm

DUCAUDI! AUDI AG ACQUIRES SPORTS MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER DUCATI HOLDING S.P.A

Motorbikes back within the Audi portfolio

Chairman Rupert Stadler: “As a sporty, global premium brand, Ducati is an excellent fit for Audi.”
Third pillar for AUDI AG in Italy
Ducati a leading player in engine technology and lightweight construction

taken from: http://www.audifans.net/article673.html

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:46 am

werent they owned by the piaggio/fiat family that own 99% of Italian car/motorcycle companies now

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:49 am

sorry forgot to say apart from those already sold by piaggio/fiat over the last 5-10yrs hance taking them out of the italian owner/made market

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:31 am

I didn't see them listed specifically- but it could have been one of the holding groups. Info on Ducati's history can be found either on their website, or good old wikipedia.

I've just added another article- admittedly it's got a heavy Audi slant (like anyone would be surprised! lol)- here:
http://www.audifans.net/article676.html

I would be interested on what people think- it's the first "proper" article I've written in AGES Laughing

- there's bound to be a few errors, maybe- but then again, I did spend quite a few hours doing research- had a good dig through the archive material.... (Audi etc.- not Ducati)

Personally I think it's a good thing; I'm not a "biker"- but I can appreciate a good bike, if that makes sense. One thing spotted while researching is that -generally- cylinder head design on motorbikes is more advanced than cars; add something to a car that adds a few kg, and you don't notice it so much- add it to a bike and the handling (along with everything else) goes out of the (metaphoric) window....

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:23 am

Just read through and all seems good, you also have another Italian company that worked with NSU in the late 50's early 60's being Innocenti, where NSU built a version of the Lambretta LD, originally in kit form from Italy and then as their own built bike which was the NSU Prima

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:03 am

thanks for the feedback- I'll take a look (maybe an oversight)

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:29 pm

I'm quite excited by this. Ducati is surely the Ferrari of the bike world, and it's good to see them onboard. They're the motorbike eqivalent of Lamborghini, and Audi's ownership has seen them go from strength to strength Cool

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:34 pm

Agreed with this; good analogy Wink