Collector’s Item: Ducati Diavel AMG, the Mercedes-badged Audi

As expected, Mercedes-Benz’s performance division AMG announced it is cutting ties with Ducati following the motorcycle manufacturer’s acquisition by rival car-maker Audi.

AMG released a brief statement saying, explaining the split and saying it we never in the running to purchase Ducati: “Since the end of 2010 a successful marketing cooperation has existed between AMG and Ducati. The company takeover by a rival car manufacturer has understandably resulted in the end of any further collaboration. The takeover of Ducati was never our aim – our focus lies clearly in developing and producing premium performance cars and we will be concentrating all our energy on this.”

AMG and Ducati have shared a marketing partnership since 2010, with AMG sponsoring Ducati Corse’s MotoGP team. The two companies also collaborated on a special-edition version of the Diavel, which instantly becomes a bit of a collector’s item as the world’s only AMG-branded Audi product.

Of course, the Ducati Diavel AMG is not actually an AMG; it’s still a Ducati that happens to bear AMG badging. Still, that makes it a bit of a quirk likely never to be seen again.

[Source: TwoWheelsBlog]

Related Reading
Audi Officially Announces Ducati Purchase
Ducati Diavel AMG Special Edition Live at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show

By Dennis Chung