What would a car made by bike makers look like?

The folks at Jennings Harley Davidson have been throwing around the kind of ideas that plague the minds of every motorcycle enthusiast. What would a car made by a famous bike maker look like? And yes Honda, Suzuki, BMW, and KTM already make cars. But how about companies like Ducati or Vespa? Let’s have a look at what they’ve come up with.

Ducati

Not surprisingly, it’s a track day monster with hints of the Ariel Atom. What else would Ducati make, if they were to make a car? There are also hints of Audi and the Diavel. Characteristic Ducati touches are also visible including red exposed trellis framing, mid-mounted exhaust, low windshield, exposed suspension and an aggressive front end. Just sort out the huge headlights and the weird front fenders and we would be itching to take it out on the track.

Harley Davidson

It’s a hot rod. Again what else could it have been? They’ve hit it out the ballpark in the inspiration department for this one. The engine – I’m guessing a v8 - is exposed. There is some lovely sheet metal work and paint job, although the paint scheme may not exactly scream Harley Davidson. Spoked wheels, white-walled tires, front wheel fenders, side exhausts with straight pipes, leather trunk and leaf springs are some period appropriate touches - the period where Harley Davidson is still stuck in. The windshield lifted straight from a Harley cruiser also adds a sense a humor.

Triumph

Why would a quintessentially British motorcycle company make a blatant copy of an American muscle car as their first attempt at a car? Jennings says that they were inspired by the Triumph Bonneville. The Triumph Bonneville is a motorcycle that has a legacy in the Triumph catalog since the very beginning of the company. Bonneville, on the other hand, was named after the Bonneville Salt Flats which is the Mecca for speed freaks. Does such a roundabout inspiration appeal to you? We will hold our reservations.

Aprilia

This rally fighter feels surprisingly apt for an Aprilia car. Jennings says that it gets a lot of its inspiration from the Dorsoduro 900 supermoto. There are Aprilia touches everywhere. The bright red exposed tubular frame, the paint scheme, the front end and its rally car like stance all seem inspired by it. Another mark for the Jennings rendering.

Kawasaki

Drawing parallels between Kawasaki and Lamborghini do seem like an intuitive idea. Both have a similar approach to making their creations look and feel mad. And somehow this Sesto element inspired open top racer seems surprisingly apt for a Kawasaki design. Kawasaki does have a long-standing racing heritage in everything from MotoGP to World SuperBike to even Isle of Man TT. Perhaps it is the black and green color scheme, the Kawasaki H2 inspired tubular subframe or the headlights that bring the Kawasaki connection home. Nevertheless, this does seem like something that we would like to thrash around on a race track.     

Vespa

Granted a Vespa inspired car is not exactly easy. The Vespa is such a huge departure from the conventional thinking surrounding motorcycles, that it almost seems alien. It should probably be cute and quirky and decidedly feminine. Hence the folks at Jennings probably drew parallels with the Beatle. The rear wheel hidden behind a Vespa inspired rear fender is just inspired, as is the choice for the paint scheme. The Beatle inspired front end, however, seems like an afterthought. Much like the bike that inspires it then, this render is also divisive. Just a suggestion - they should probably have looked at a Porsche or even a Fiat 500.    

What do you think? Do these renders seem well thought out?