[imagesource: Vespa]

Nowadays, when somebody mentions ‘Vespa’ we all think ‘scooter’.

It’s the most iconic brand out there, and the one that set the bar for all other scooters that would follow.

That bar is pretty high.

In 1946, the Piaggio family found themselves, like many Italian families, struggling with the repercussions of the Second World War.

Eager to reinvent themselves and hungry for ideas that would have mass appeal, they focused their energy on creating a simple and affordable mode of transport, and the Vespa was born, revolutionising two-wheel transport.

That’s the origin story in a nutshell, but there’s much more to the scooter than how it got started.

ScooterLab put together a few facts to take with you to your next meet-up and ride with fellow enthusiasts.

Speed 

When cruising around the city, it’s easy to forget that the Vespa is a powerful little machine.

The fastest Vespa is a 125cc missile that reached 170km/h on a ride from Rome to the nearby coastal town of Ostia in 1951. The most powerful model is the Vespa GTS 300 with 23,8 horsepower.

Piaggio experimented with automatic transmission on the first Vespa

Way back in 1946 when the Vespa was first manufactured, Piaggio tried to fit it out with fully automatic transmission.  Unfortunately, the technology in the 1940s wasn’t good enough.

Instead, the company opted for good old mechanical gears which could be shifted by hand. They retained these right up until the 1980s.

Alfa Romeo was involved in Vespa production

We all know that it’s rare for a manufacturer to produce all of its own parts, and when Vespa first got going, Piaggio used Alfa Romeo to produce both engine and chassis parts for the scooter.

Alfa Romeo is responsible for the first 3 000 Vespa cylinders and also pressed the first series production Vespa frames.

The myth of the green Vespa

There is a commonly accepted idea that all of the early Vespa models were light green, but if you take a look at black and white photos from the Milan Fair, the scooters appear in different shades. It’s unclear what shades they were.

Americans tried to remove the front brake from the scooter

Catalogue company Sears Roebuck & Co. sold the Vespa as an Allstate Cruiser. In an attempt to cut costs and buy the Vespa as cheaply as possible they tried to get Piaggio to remove the front brake.

That request was met with a hard pass from Piaggio.

The one thing that every Vespa owner knows for sure is that there’s no better way to explore the city in the summer sun than zooming around on a two-wheeler.

If you’re keen to join the lifestyle, check out the full range on Vespa’s website, for easy browsing.

Once you’ve picked out the two-wheeler that best suits your vibe, drop Seth a line at editor@2oceansvibemedia.com, and he’ll hook you up with a sweet deal.

[source:scooterlab]