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NEWS
Ferrari patents V-twin
Could we soon be seeing an Italian motorcycle bearing the famous prancing stallion?Italian sportscar maker Ferrari is believed to have lodged a patent for a V-twin engine, raising the possibility that the company is pondering an entry into the motorcycle market.
The accompanying diagram shows what the patent describes as an "internal combustion engine having two cylinders, which are arranged in a 'V' configuration". In the diagram the engine is located in a generic motorcycle chassis, which may bear no correlation to any style of model Ferrari may be considering.
The patent also details a means of taming the vibrational forces inherent in a V-twin design, and a way of balancing the crankshaft to negate these forces and preclude the need for balance shafts.
A Ferrari motorcycle would give Ferrari's owner, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, another avenue for leveraging the iconic sportscar maker's brand. It would also give it a potentially powerful tool to attack Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which is owned by Audi – also owner of Ferrari's arch rival, Lamborghini.
Ferrari is also believed to have lodged a trademark for the name 'Cavallino' – Italian for pony – although it is not clear whether this has any relation to the V-twin patent. Ferrari has declined to comment on both the patent and the trademark application.
The only motorcycle to officially bear the Ferrari logo was a one-off special (pictured) built by Briton David Kay over a period spanning 1990 to 1995. He took 3000 hours to construct the bike, which he built from scratch in tribute to Ferrari's founder, Enzo Ferrari, after gaining permission for the project from Enzo's son, Piero.
The aluminium-bodied bike – powered by a 900cc in-line four-cylinder engine said to produce 105hp – last sold at auction in England in 2012 for £85,500 (approximately $A130,000).
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Written byBikesales Staff
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