Everybody loves a good origin story. Batman's dead parents. Spiderman's dead uncle. Aquaman's...fish? But knowing how and from where the things we love came about just makes them all the more meaningful. And this is exactly what Ducati did during the Milan Design Week, Fuorisalone.
The House of Borgo Panigale gave enthusiasts and visitors a glimpse into the company’s rich legacy, as well as what could arguably be the best sportbike of the modern era: the Ducati Panigale.
Through a collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Ducati displayed a unique showcase at the 2024 Fuorisalone. Dubbed Forma, the showcase highlighted Ducati’s rich heritage in the world of motorsports, while at the same time giving visitors a unique look into the origins of the Ducati Panigale V4.
It all started with the “Brief,” a document highlighting the essence of what the model stands for. It’s both abstract and concrete at the same time—with parameters about performance, but at the same time, moodboards that show the bike’s character. Following the brief, visitors were given an in-depth look at the design process, from artist sketches hung gracefully overhead, all the way to the first clay model of the bike we’ve come to know.
Anyone who knows anything about automotive and motorcycle design would appreciate just how important the clay model is. And while it may sometimes seem like an archaic design method, there’s nothing quite like seeing your conceptual design unfold into something that you can actually touch and feel.
Following the model, Ducati presented the so-called Master Model, produced in a shade of neutral gray, allowing viewers to see the way light bounces off the surface from different angles. This is then followed by the Clinic Model, which looks identical to the finished product, albeit without functional equipment.
Ducati says that the Clinic Model is used as a reference prototype, wherein each and every bike produced must reflect its aesthetics identically.
It goes without saying that high-end bikes like the Panigale V4 go through extensive R&D both in terms of design and technology. And while it’s more than likely that Ducati embellished and romanticized its design process a bit for the exhibit, it’s still cool to see each step that went into the design process of the bike.
It makes it even more epic to think that each model currently on the market went through a similar process: from conceptualization to development to final production.
