Great , so now any interesting styling will be off the menu , the only colours will be 5 shades of grey , the ride will be rock-hard and the steering lifeless , the new daytime running lights will look stupid , and the owners will be seen as c*cks , most things that Ducati never stood for !
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 3:19pm
No, I think like the article suggests Ducati is now in "safe hands" as VW's enormous capital base and good management will keep it alive.
Otherwise its one of those premium brands that will forever be almost bankrupt, keep changing hands and be too cash strapped to achieve its potential. I think this will be a great thing for the company and the end user of its products.
After all, Lamborghini have hardly reduced to selling only grey soulless cars after VW bought them up. VW have enough brains to preserve the "Italianess" ofa brand.
Dunno about that. The last characteristic seems pretty much the status quo.
julian.walls,
Apr 18, 5:49pm
that is a surprise I though Ducati were often associated with Ferrari - Not Popularly known but Ducati developed for a Ferrari a - Ferrari motorcycle one off :)
foxdonut,
Apr 18, 8:47pm
Audi buying Lamborghini was the best thing to ever happen to Lamborghini.
Fact.
gman35,
Apr 18, 9:37pm
I know , I am stirring with Clarkson-type wording I suppose, and good to see Lambo. still as wild as ever , but AUDI as the car brand buying Lambo. and Ducati is like the pope buying brothels. Then again I forgot about the RS4,6 or R8 so what do I know ! Just that to me "the suit in a default grey a6" is the 1st thing that always comes to mind.
un_known,
Apr 18, 9:57pm
personally i think that on the verge of bankruptcy desperation made alot of supercars what they are.They havea certain raw passion instilled in them.The current lambos and ferraris are tame compared to their 70's and 80's counterparts.Supercars are supposed to be noisy tempermental and uncomfortable.If you want a comfy reliable almost practical car what are u doing looking at a lambo in the first place.
foxdonut,
Apr 18, 10:12pm
You're joking right!
I know no one on this motoring forum is interested in anything unless its a falling apart 5000 dollar 20 year old used jap box or equally old Holden heap of shit, but looking at what has come out recently in the "mainstay" supercar bracket - Aventador, F12, 911 GT2 RS etc - these cars are all doing close enough to sub 3 seconds to 100 and most of them can hit 200mph on a standing mile. They have the best technology. the best sounding engines, the fastest speeds and cosmetically they're far more evolved than the oldies. 308! Jalpa, Jarama! No way these cars were better looking than FF, Aventador etc.
un_known,
Apr 18, 10:47pm
just dont get it do ya.its not about how much technology is in it, its about how much technology isnt in it.do you really want to drive a car with a flappy paddle gearbox, traction control, electronic stability control, fly by wire steering!well ok you probably do. but that sure doesnt do it for me. i'd rather have the howl of a v12 with six carbs, a good old fashioned manual trans with a heavy clutch, and a steering wheel thats actually connected to the front wheels.Ya know cars where the only thing keeping it pointing in the right direction was you not some computer.
its not about going fast or handling well, its about mechanical soul and plain old fashioned cool factor.And everyone knows that if you roll up to some swanky event in a 458 your just another rich wanker, but if you show up in a 250 GTO then you have style.
un_known,
Apr 18, 10:53pm
and why did you use possibly the worst models ferrari and lambo have ever made to compare them to their latest high end models.they arent even in the same class.and looks are a matter of opinion i think the FF is hideous but the Muira is one of the sexiest cars ever made.And alot of car critics seem to agree.
foxdonut,
Apr 18, 11:02pm
If Super cars were built like you describe they would be passed by Honda Accords on the motorway because they couldn't keep up. If they were built to your specification they wouldn't be Super cars, they'd be heaps of shit.
If you're driving a 250 you don't have style, you have a 2-16,000,000.00 dollar car and your insurance has probably just been invalidated.
Don't worry, they're still as unreliable today as they were thirty years ago. Ferraris still spontaneously catch fire and Lamborghini's fall apart. That the price for driving a highly strung _cutting edge_ car - Honda Civics have paddle shift - now; after Ferrari put them on the road years ago.
foxdonut,
Apr 18, 11:05pm
Have you even seen an Aventador!
un_known,
Apr 18, 11:23pm
Hang on a minute are u saying a carbed v12 with a manual trans is automatically a heap of shit!
And alot of by gone supercars will get passed by a new accord. thats not the point. Its about soul, owning an old rattly ugly unreliable car not because its good but because you love it, it makes you feel alive.
Why do you think hot rods are so popular! and why would people go out of their way to build nostalgia rods/rat rods rather than buying a pre made fibreglass rod copy with a modern engine it it.Because its not authentic, anyone with the money can buy one and you just end up looking like a poser.Aka a fake/ someone lacking in character / a shell without a soul. Just like the cars.
And no one is going to look twice at a new accord or civic no teenage boy is going to see it cruising down the motorway point it out to his dad and say "damn that is coooool".And the guy driving that classic ferrari doesnt give a goddamn about some wanker in an accord passing him cause hes got nothing to prove.
foxdonut,
Apr 18, 11:36pm
Lol, you say _I don't get it_
A super car has to be fast to be cool. They've always been the fastest, and to stay that way they need to have 8 speed gearboxes with computer interfaces, aerodynamic dampers and diffusers, electronic direct injection etc al.
When Toyota was churning out 50kw pig iron single carb, single cam 4 pot 3 speeds, Ferrari was releasing 200kw fuel injected 12 cylinder 5 speeds. Its a lot more to do with technology than someone who has an affinity for carbed engines.
Face it, if the buying public wanted what you wanted then thats what would be selling, not Ferrari FF's.
hence the reason the rods are so popular - there is a niche market that wants what that offers.
I'm not saying jack about particular engines, I'm saying that as a total package, to be the best and to be the most desirable, Super cars need all the flashest, glitziest, most expensive computer controlled stuff money can buy to stay on top, 'cause everyone else is doing the same thing they were five years ago as a standard feature.
Anyway, watch this Italia Turbo dominate the Aventador and try and tell me you don't smile just a little bit.
When I was a small boy, Lamborghini Countaches were glossy black or bright red, and Lamborghini Diablos were bright yellow.
I notice a lot of the new Lamborghinis in posters & magazines appear to be different shades of dark grey now. there's a little bit of humourless German techno style creeping in to them, more's the pity.
The Aventador has an unreal paint on it, somehow managing to be both a matt black and a semi gloss at the same time. It looks like a stealth bomber, and sounds like one too. You can barely hear it on the move but the minute the boot goes down it screams.
Not like the SuperVeloce which sounds like its going to explode in first gear just trying to get out of a driveway.
zephyrheaven,
Apr 19, 1:59am
Cool, so now they have to work out how to make them leak oil like all the other VWAG shitters
nightboss,
Apr 19, 2:16am
"Freeze, step away from the keyboard, keep your hands where we can see them. Arms all the way in these long sleeves please Mr. Fox, there we go just 8 more buckles and we are finished. Thank you orderly, you can take Mr. Fox back to his padded cell now. How the heck did he get out!"
greenwing,
Apr 19, 6:52pm
Smart buy by Audi - they know they'll make a fortune satisfying the constant demand for Ducati spare parts.
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