2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Reveals Tons of Cars... and the Ducati Panigale 899

Volkswagen’s so-called Group Night event preceding the Frankfurt Motor Show is an annual opportunity for the automotive giant to strut the breadth of their four-wheeled offerings to the media. But this year’s brand-centric celebration revealed something fresh for the assembled press: the latest, greatest Ducati, the Italian motorcycle property which was snatched up by the German manufacturer's Audi division last year.

The 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale is a "supermid" spinoff of the 1199 Panigale, and offers a 148 hp powerplant saddled with a dry weight of only 372.5 pounds. But more noteworthy than the bike’s ballsy power-to-weight ratio is the fact that the newest Duc wasn’t unveiled at the EICMA show in Milan, the usual spot where European motorcycles of any significance debut, but rather at the automotive venue that sees high profile competitors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

If there’s anything the motorcycle world can learn from Audi’s efforts with Ducati thus far, it’s that producing great product is a big part of the battle, but successfully marketing those goods represents an even more crucial part of the selling process.