Lot 250: c.1955 Ducati 48cc Cucciolo

Designed for bicycle attachment, the Cucciolo (‘little pup’) was the Bologna-based Ducati factory’s first product and was sold widely outside Italy including the UK, where it was imported by Britax, which later offered complete machines. The Cucciolo power unit had been designed in wartime by Aldo Farinelli, enabling Ducati to commence production almost as soon as hostilities ceased. Unusual in being a four-stroke at a time when most such utility units were two-strokes, the overhead-valve Cucciolo was of unitary construction incorporating a two-speed transmission, and was described by Motor Cycling magazine as ‘beautifully engineered’. Offered from the estate of the late Pim Hascher, the well known Belgian collector, this example is housed in a most unusual frame by ‘M. Rocher’, which features pivoting link front suspension and a most generously sized fuel tank for a machine of its class. There are no documents with this Lot, which is sold without reserve.