Ducati's former Design Director at Moto Guzzi
It's been over a year since Pierre Terblanche parted company with Ducati, after more than a decade as the Bologna motorcycle manufacturer's design director. Following a short stay at Volkswagen in Germany, Pierre Terblanche began his motorcycle design career at the Cagiva Research Center (CRC) in San Marino, working as understudy to the legendary Massimo Tamburini. When Cagiva offloaded Ducati to the Texas Pacific Group in 1996, Terblanche went along as design director. He'll be remembered for creating the instantly iconic Ducati Supermono, Ducati Hypermotard and Ducati SportClassics, but also for more contentious creations such as the Ducati Multistrade and Ducati 999 Superbike.Terblanche left his post in Borgo Panigale during the last days of 2007 to launch his own independent design studio. He wanted to create more and manage less, and explore other design challenges – perhaps boats, he said at the time.
We don't know if his nautical aspirations were ever satisfied, but we have learned that he is currently working with Moto Guzzi. Is it possible that Terblanche take over styling responsibility for the struggling Italian icon? No official announcement yet, but Pierre Terblanche is reportedly 'very excited' about the work. So we could see in the near future some new Moto Guzzi's to get excited about.
Tag: Pierre Terblanche Ducati Cagiva CRC Massimo tamburini Moto Guzzi Designer
Claudio Domenicali
We had Vittoriano Guareschi testing the prototype on the track... But we also wanted to make it a good road bike. It's more practical than the look suggests.
The Ducati Hypermotard was born in Pierre's mind but it took a lot of engineering to make the concept come alive, especially regarding weight – this bike is almost 20kg lighter than the Multistrada. Hundreds of components are new, lighter, smaller and better engineered.
The design idea was to give the Hypermotard a very clean lines, with all the cables and lines hidden behind bodywork. We wanted to make the most compact package for a twin-cylinder engine; a V-twin that looks almost like a single. That's why the fuel tank is small.
We developed the Hypermotard S because Ducati's philosophy now is that with every new motorcycle we make a base motorcycle and an S upgrade. With the 1098 we were surprised that 60 percent of demand has been for the 1098S. It looks as though the Hypermotard S is also very popular.