Even if Ducati's speech remains ambiguous regarding electric motorcycles for the moment, it is clear that the Italian manufacturer has embarked on a process that should logically ultimately lead to electrified production at Borgo Panigale...
For those who still doubt it, the conclusion of thearticle on the first ride of the prototype of the future Italian MotoE is final:
« Ducati's experience in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup will be fundamental support for product R&D. The goal is to create, as soon as technology allows, a Ducati electric vehicle for road use that is sporty, light, exciting and capable of satisfying all passionate. »
In just a few months since last October, where the agreement with Dorna Sports was announced, Ducati has managed to produce an electric motorcycle that already greatly satisfies its test rider, Michele Pirro: « Testing the MotoE prototype on the circuit was a great pleasure, as it marks the beginning of an important chapter in Ducati's history. The bike is light and already has good balance. In addition, the throttle connection in the first opening phase and the ergonomics are very similar to those of a MotoGP. Without the silence and the fact that in this test we decided to limit the power to only 70% of performance, I could easily have imagined that I was riding my motorcycle. »
The purpose of the arrival of the reds in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup is therefore to finalize the technologies intended to produce a production motorcycle. The “V21L” prototype is the result of the joint work of the Ducati Corse team and Ducati R&D engineers, led by Roberto Cane, Ducati eMobility director: “ We are living in a truly extraordinary moment. I can't believe this is reality and still not a dream! The first electric Ducati on the track is exceptional not only for its unique character but also for the type of project: a challenge both because of its performance objectives and its extremely short deadlines. It is precisely for this reason that the work of the entire team dedicated to the project has been incredible and today's result rewards us for the efforts made in recent months. We're certainly not done yet; indeed, we know that there is still a very long way to go, but in the meantime, we have laid an important first “brick”. »
The most important challenges in the development of an electric racing motorcycle (and then a production motorcycle) remain linked to the size, weight and battery life. Ducati's goal is to make high-performance, lightweight electric motorcycles available to all participants in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup. The objective of the project is, in addition to better performance, weight control and regularity of power delivered during the race, obtained thanks to the attention paid to the development of a cooling system adapted to the objective. Observation of the photos allows us to note the presence of significant liquid cooling separated into two radiators: undoubtedly the upper one for the battery and the lower one for the motor. Ducati benefits from the group's already very significant know-how in electric vehicles, whether from Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini or Volkswagen. This is probably what explains the extremely short time that passed between the formalization of the agreement with Dorna and the first run on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
However, Ducati does not seem to put all its eggs in one basket and, at least while waiting for the finalization of the electric range, mentions other possibilities such as synthetic fuel on which it is working in particular Porsche in collaboration with Siemens Mobility. While waiting for what appears in any case to be a real inevitable change, the lack of pleasure serves as an explanation for the fact that Ducati does not yet offer an electric motorcycle to individuals, as highlighted last year
Francesco Militia, vice president of sales of Ducati, in the columns of MCN : " We are thinking and working on electricity. We are part of a group that is moving quickly towards electrification and this is a good opportunity for Ducati. Will we soon produce an electric Ducati? No. We believe that for the type of machine we currently produce, an electric motorcycle cannot guarantee fun, autonomy, weight, etc. what Ducati riders expect. We are also carefully considering other solutions for zero or minimal emissions, such as synthetic fuel. Other brands in our group such as Porsche are looking at it and it is something we are considering in the medium term. »
Today, however, we clearly have the impression that the electric Ducati will arrive in dealerships well before the very experimental synthetic fuel, currently being studied in the south of Chile as part of the Haru Oni project, the objective being to produce 130 liters of climate-neutral eFuel by the end of 000, then 2022 million liters of eFuel by 55, then 2024 million liters by 550. We can wait a while before this arrives at our service stations …
Moreover, Porsche does not hide that its eFuel will be primarily intended for use in Stuttgart's motorsport programs and its experimentation centers, before perhaps later production cars. And obviously did not wait for this to release a complete range of 100% electric vehicles. We can think that Ducati will do the same…
