Istorie
The Vespa (which means “wasp” in Italian) was the result of Enrico Piaggio’s determination to create a viable alternative to the automobile for the masses. This particular scooter has been customized by Aristide & Honore in a combination of Rat style and chrome. The chassis of the Vespa was left in a rusty condition and painted with a matt lacquer, to stop the metal from rusting any further, while all other elements have been painted in chrome to give a strong contrast.
Full description
The scooter was invented in 1947 as a low cost alternative to the automobile in war-ravaged Europe – it was designed as transport for the masses and it caught on so quickly that it became one of the great transport phenomena to sweep the world in the 20th century.
The Vespa (which means “wasp” in Italian) was the result of Enrico Piaggio’s determination to create a viable alternative to the automobile for the masses.
As the war drew to a close, Enrico studied every possible solution to get production in his plants going again. Based on a small motorcycle made for parachutists, the prototype, known as the MP 5, was nicknamed “Paperino” (the Italian name for Donald Duck) because of its strange shape, but Enrico Piaggio did not like it, and he asked Corradino D’Ascanio to redesign it.
Corradino D’Ascanio only needed a few days to refine his idea and prepare the first drawings of the Vespa, first produced in Pontedera in April 1946. It got its name from Enrico Piaggio himself who, looking at the MP 6 prototype with its wide central part where the rider sat and the narrow “waist”, exclaimed, “It looks like a wasp!”. And so the Vespa was born.
The uniqueness of the vehicle ensured Piaggio a very long period of success, so much so that in November 1953, the 500,000th unit left the line, followed by the one millionth in June 1956. In 1960 the Vespa passed the two million mark; in 1970 it reached four million, and over ten million in 1988, making it a unique phenomenon in the motorized two-wheeler sector it has sold over 16 million units to date.
This particular scooter has been customized by Aristide & Honore in a combination of Rat style and chrome. The chassis of the Vespa was left in a rusty condition and painted with a matt lacquer, to stop the metal from rusting any further, while all other elements have been painted in chrome to give a strong contrast.
