Will Ducati Add Personal Watercraft To Its Motorcycle Line?

The Wetcati would take Desmo power to the lakes.

Will Ducati Add Personal Watercraft To Its Motorcycle Line?Motorcyclist Online

For some hardcore Ducatisti, the Diavel was offensive enough. Certain dyed-in-the-knee-pucks fans of the Italian brand still cringe at the mere existence of a Bologna-built cruiser, even one that does define new performance standards for the feet-forward class. We can only imagine this group's relief that the once heavily rumored Ducati scooter project has been shelved (for now, at least). But the honor of Ducati's proud racing heritage isn't completely safe just yet, now that we've spied these artist renderings of the (awfully named) "Wetcati" personal watercraft—perhaps the perfect launch to ferry douchey Italian playboys from yacht-to-shore in Monaco or St. Tropez.

WetcatiMotorcyclist Online

Thankfully, the Wetcati only exists in digital form right now. Furthermore, it has no connection whatsoever with Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., beyond the fact that it's obviously influenced by the styling of the aforementioned Diavel power cruiser, right down to the fake trellis frame elements and ellipsoid-shaped headlamp. It's merely a concept by Zolland Design AB, a Swedish design firm well known in the boating world and one that also occasionally dabbles in automotive and motorcycle design (their Web site at viztech.se is worth checking out).

Wetcati rearMotorcyclist Online

Since it only exists in pixels, the designers went all-out with their PWC concept, pseudo-specifying not one, but two 1098cc Testastretta V-twins for a theoretical output of 320 horsepower—more than enough to hustle you across what’s left of Lake Havasu in a hurry.

Though it's unlikely that Ducati would ever get directly involved in boat building, the Italian maker might be second only to Harley-Davidson in terms of partnering with other companies to leverage its brand power in other markets. Ducati has licensing arrangements with dozens of other companies to co-brand products as diverse as wine, bicycles, kitchenware, luggage, shoes, children's apparel, and more. Could a co-branded watercraft be next? "No official comment," says Nathon Verdugo, Ducati North America's public relations manager. We'll leave his "unofficial" comments to your imagination.