The Ducati Supermono already boasts a novel design, cutting-edge engineering, and with just 65 built, the kind of rarity collectors prize.
That sort of lineage and style does not come cheap, as buying one would set you back more than the price of a brand new Superleggera V4. That’s a bit surprising for a thumper, which only puts out a modest 65bhp, but it does have one new factor to recommend it.
Now legendary designer Pierre Terblanche is revisiting the Supermono design he rolled out nearly 30 years ago. According to the new Barber Advanced Design Center (BADC), which is set to be housed atop the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and headed by Brian Case, their first project will be headed by Terblanche and the Supermono.
Case says his team has been hard at work for the last seven months putting together a high-tech educational workspace for Industrial Design as it relates to personal mobility, and the center features a Clay Modeling Studio, Additive Lab, Model Shop, CAD/VR Visualization, and Multimedia Conferencing center.
And Case has been in this hot seat before as he spent a decade as the Co-founder and Design Director for Motus Motorcycles.
Aimed at providing inspiration for industrial designers, the BADC decided to sign on the legend to redesign and update the Ducati Supermono. It was a masterstroke to bring on the bike’s original designer, Terblanche. Called the “director’s cut” of the Ducati Supermono, this bike will be a non-running testbed to display the latest technologies used to create a motorcycle.
You can get a look at the results as Terblanche will unveil his latest work this Friday at 11:30 AM CST during the Barber Vintage Festival.
And here’s a video of the Ducati’s Supermono origins featuring Pierre Terblanche and Brian Case at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.
The Ducati Supermono was a 65hp, 550cc single-cylinder thumper race bike, which weighed a startling 260 lbs (118 kg). Despite the Supermono’s single-cylinder motor, mechanical engineers Massimo Bordi and Claudio Domenicali created an engine, which feels like a twin due to a novel counterbalance rod.
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