Temptations: Lamborghini Sian and Ducati

Now why did they have to go and do something like that?

“They” in this case is Volkswagen which aside being the builder of the recently departed New Beetle has a large collection of consumer vehicle brands crammed in the old minibus including Lamborghini and Ducati (and Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti, SEAT and Skoda). The two Italian subsidiaries have come together to produce a vintage blend of style and speed with afternotes of machismo and a nose redolent with hints of leather and blistered rubber.

Ducati is building 630 copies of the Diavel 1260 Lamborghini, a joint design effort between the styling departments of Ducati and Lamborghini inspired by the Lamborghini Sian FKP 37. The hybrid supercar, producing 819 horsepower from a combination of V12 gasoline engine and 48v, 600A electric motor, will be available for a limited run of only 63 cars. The bike specific tribute parts for the Diavel 1260 Lamborghini include new lighter forged wheels similar to those found on the car and carbon fibre bodywork including the air intakes, radiator covers and exhaust covers. You might not think it would work and yet … the bike and car are both painted in identical matte olive paint. The bike gets additional graphics including a big “63” symbolizing the number of cars available, a number hearkening back to the year Lamborghini was founded, 1963. In regard to performance, the Diavel sticks with the same 157-hp engine found in the standard Diavel.

So what’s the problem? The temptation of four wheels. Being a motorcycle guy and seeing both the Ducati and the Lamborghini needing to be moved down the nearest available runway, one would be sorely tempted to jump into the Lamborghini instead of the Diavel because the only other hybrid most of us are likely to ride in is a Prius taxicab.Turn down a ride in a rarefied supercar? Very unlikely. But here’s the rub. If one did take that Sian for a blast down the runway, a good rider on the Diavel would be leading for at least five or six seconds. Lamborghini says the Sian launches from zero to 100 kmh in 2.8 seconds. The Diavel is 3/10ths of a second faster. After that smart money is on the Sian with a factory spec top speed of 350 kmh. It’s all about aerodynamics and the least streamlined feature of a motorcycle is the rider.

The Diavel comes out ahead in a couple of other categories as well:cost per horsepower at $223 vs $4,455 for the Lamborghini Sian; cost per cylinder $17,497 vs $225,000 and real world availability. There are reports that buyers have ordered a Sian FKP 37 and sold their spot in the production line to a higher bidder without even getting the car.

The wildest tech aspect of the two vehicles belongs to the Lamborghini Sian. Due to the thermal expansion characteristics of the body’s “smart” panel material, four flaps open behind the engine compartment without any electronic aids or sensors. When the area heats up, the vents open autonomously.

Well, the Lamborghini Sian sounds like a nice option, but how much does it cost exactly? Lamborghini isn’t particularly forthcoming—if you have to ask… With only 63 being produced its not like every dealer will have one. Perusing the Lamborghini Vancouver website didn’t turn one up but digging a little deeper there is one in Houston, Texas going for $2,000,000 US or about $2,700,000 CDN. The Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini is $34,995 in Canada.

If you thought Volkswagen was stretching the budget with the Lamborghini Sian, it isn’t the company’s most expensive vehicle. That honour goes to the Bugatti Chiron Sport 300+ which retails for $3,900,000 US and comes with a 1,578-hp engine capable of propelling it to speeds over 480 kmh. Factory test driver Andy Wallace reached that speed, a production car record, after a week of working his way up to it on a track in Germany. Bugatti says that’s it for the company’s pursuit of speed records. Fair enough.

• John Molony, Canadian Biker Issue #351

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Temptations: Lamborghini Sian and Ducati

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