If Ducati did cars…

24th May 2010

Could a superbike-maker battle be about to commence on the tracks of Europe? Sadly not. But this amazing sketch shows what a trackday car inspired by bike-maker Ducati could look like.

Created for an online design competition, the D16RR2 is designed “to give the driver and it's passenger sensations as similar as possible to the ones of riding a superbike.”

Despite being a theoretical project, there’s a fair amount of detail surrounding the car that could have Caterham quaking in its boots. Its chassis is a mixed tubular and carbon fibre structure covered by carbon fibre bodywork. The powerplant is a V8 made of two L4 Ducati Desmosedici motorbike engines, and develops 420bhp.

The engine is front-mid mounted, just as in a Mercedes SLR McLaren. Performance is set to be blistering as the car weighs just 450kg.

Motorbike and motorsport specialist parts are used throughout, including suspension by Ohlins, brakes by Brembo and wheels by Italian maker Marchesini.

The car is shown as a spyder, but there is also a removable polycarbonate roof. It is a strict two-seater, with bucket seats integrated in the bodywork and a motorbike sequential gearbox which requires you to shift forwards for first gear, then pull back for the remaining five ratios.