One Day at Ducati in Borgo Panigale, Italy
Exploring the production, design process and strategy behind the famous Italian motorcycle house
Sporty and elegant are two words that come to mind when describing Ducati, the famed Italian motorcycle producer. A legend in its own right, Ducati is a crown jewel in the Motor District, a small region between Bologna and Modena that is also home to Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Dallara and many more. We had the rare chance to visit them in Borgo Panigale, a small town outside Bologna. During our day of exploration, we witnessed the production process and talked to Ducati CEO, Claudio Domenicali, along with Andrea Ferraresi, Director of Centro Stile Ducati.
Our tour begins in the Museo Ducati, an extensive immersion into the company’s evolution, which started in 1926. Originally a producer of radios, radio parts and condensers, Ducati steadily grew but was then occupied and bombed during World War II. After the war, the company opened a new branch and started the production of Cucciolo, a small engine that could be applied to regular bicycles and make them “motor bikes.” The museum follows the eras of the company, punctuated by constant technological innovations (such as the desmodromic valve) and a high dose of design to be found in models such as Scrambler 450, 750 GT, the ST series, 900 Superlight, Monster, Multistrada and many more.
After, we follow the entire production process (documented in the rarely-seen-before images in this article). Everything starts from the engine. A group of skilled workers carefully build each engine along an assembly line that mixes manual work, robots, craftsmanship and high-tech processes. Then, the finished engines get tested and move to the next phase, where the vehicle takes shape. It’s fascinating to observe how many workers move around these design marvels, quickly building the motorcycle in a highly rehearsed choreography.
In addition to their regular production, Ducati recently launched Unica, a highly personalized customization program. We explore the initiative with Ferraresi while inside the Centro Stile, where pictures are not allowed, and for obvious reasons, many areas are not accessible to visitors—not even the most elite clients.
“Unica was born almost as a joke here at the Centro Stile,” Ferraresi says. “At first there were few customers, but by word of mouth they increased.” The design team at Unica is comprised of the same people who design all other motorcycles. “With Unica, we work mostly on graphics, liveries and materials. Some people put their own name, their own symbol, their own logo, their own machine colors, and their own company colors. Then there are also accessories that one can add.”
Making a Ducati Unica involves a holistic experience of the Ducati world. “The customers come here and develop their ideas with the designers,” Ferraresi says. “They often come several times to see the various steps of creating their own bike. It’s nice for them to come to Borgo Panigale, visit the museum and see the production. It’s a complete experience that goes beyond just buying an object.”
Ferraresi adds, “You always try to indulge [the client], but it still has to be a Ducati in the end.” The borders that distinguish Ducati’s design are well defined. “Authenticity, essentiality, compactness, sensuality, sportiness, recognizability: you have to see the bike, and you have to say ‘this is a Ducati’ even without seeing the logo.”
Design goes hand-in-hand with long-term vision, elements under the control of Domenicali, a veteran of the sector who has worked at Ducati for decades. Our chat begins with the company’s fundamental values: “We think of Ducati as a magical fusion of sensual beauty and sophisticated technology,” he says. “Style is so important that it is our first value. Then sophistication and performance follow, within which technology is blended. One of our founding elements is the combination of emotion generated by forms and emotion generated by use.”
Ducati is one of the leading companies in the Motor Valley, and Domenicali is aware of how relevant the district is. “There are no other similar districts in the world. England has a Formula 1 district, but the Motor Valley is just a unique place. The districts all have the same characteristics: there are parent companies, which start first, then other companies are formed, and there is fertilization. The Motor Valley has these exchanges of people, and local education in universities is linked to companies. We have MUNER – Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna. This synergy between training, companies and public administration is fundamental. We also have the Motor Valley Fest and the Motor Valley Accelerator, the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Imola, the MotoGP Grand Prix and the Superbike Grand Prix in Misano. This allows us to have companies united by this positioning between technology and beauty.”
As for where Ducati is going, Domenicali says, “We certainly don’t want to enter the world of mobility utilities such as scooters. We don’t want to enter the world of small displacement, whereas almost every other manufacturer has decided to offer smaller products. We have decided to keep a company that is smaller in volume and higher in product range. That is also why we are going decisively into the customization world with Unica.”
Domenicali is already enacting future-forward step for Ducati. “We are evolving the company’s digital systems to ensure that we have a much greater ability to customize motorcycles through digital configuration that the customer will do in the United States, Japan or Berlin. We will assemble motorcycles that will be very different from each other. We will have a wider range of colors, materials and rims to ensure that we have more extreme customization aimed at audiences that we are trying to select and educate, who are increasingly able to appreciate the special component, the special material. We will never give up these soft surfaces and this elegant sportiness, the balance that when you see it is clearly a Ducati, even without seeing the brand.”
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