This model was not only the first scooter from the house of Ducati, it was also Italy’s first scooter with automatic transmission and also one having a 4-stroke engine. 

The idea of this scooter emerged after Ducati realized her falling business in motorized bicycles with the model Cucciolo and wanted to develop something different than the Vespa or Lambretta’s 2-stroke scooter (the vehicle for the masses).

So this luxury scooter was designed in collaboration with Ghia, the Italian design house (responsible for cars such as Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and the Volvo P1800). The idea was to offer the Italian public an elegant and luxury scooter that was positioned differently than the common man’s Vespa or Lambretta. And it was named Ducati Cruiser.

The engine was initially designed to give 12 hp power but was later reduced to 7.5 hp as governmental regulations did not permit a scooter to go beyond the 80 km/h speed. Even the headlight was powerful as the scooter had a 45-volt dynamo that powered 32 Amp-Hours battery.

Another added feature was the electric starter that was a 12V instead of the 6V that was provided on motorcycles. About 2000 of them were produced.

This metal scale model is in rare category.