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History of Vespa
Author: admin // Category: Vespa Piaggio
The Vespa is a line of scooters patented on 23 April 1946 by the company Piaggio Co. SpA. The name Vespa. which means “wasp” in Italian one. was chosen by Enrico Piaggio himself by discovering the prototype model.
This two-wheeler is subsequently become both a symbol of Italian creativity and extraordinary commercial success, which continues until today with 90,000 copies sold in 2006.
At the end of World War II, the Italian industrial company Piaggio, dating back over sixty years two. can not make airplane – its main occupation during the war – under his own name, as this activity is now prohibited Italy 3. Enrico Piaggio. the son of the founder of the group, decides to develop a two-wheels to create a new outlet for its plant.
The industrial application at one of its aircraft engineers to create a modern mode of transport and economic, can be driven both by men than by women,
and does not dirty the clothes (as opposed to the bike). A first model is presented, the Paperino. but not convincing. A new project is assigned to the engineer Corradino D’Ascanio. who led the launch of Piaggio “Vespa” Italian in 1946, however, six months after the Fuji “Rabbit” Japanese, which can be considered the first motor scooter modern (the English term “scooter” means “scooter”).
The first scooter has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other motorcycles. The wheels are attached laterally (as in aircraft landing gears, probably a legacy of the original “aircraft” from the Vespa) becomes a single fork arm, which facilitates in particular the change of the tube and of the tire. The motor is protected by the shell and is mounted directly on the rear wheel via the gearbox, thus releasing a place for the front feet (which allows to protect the legs by a fairing), opposite the rear wing allows the construction of a small chest or installation of a spare wheel.
Characteristics of the first model :
weight: 60 kg;
shift to the handle;
two-stroke engine of 98 cm ³;
Maximum speed: 55 km / h.
The first Vespa are made Pontedera 4 in Italy and are popular in the years 1950 and 1960. The line is still used at the beginning of xxi th century .
The firm also built in the 1950s the Vespa 400. four-wheel buggy urban and two side doors competitor of the Isetta .
Global Reach
Launched in 1946, the Vespa quickly arouses great interest worldwide. In 1953, a network of 10,000 outlets worldwide, including Asia and America. In 1950, the Vespa was built in Germany. then to the United Kingdom and France. In Spain. production begins in 1953 in Madrid.
Factories are built in India (in Mumbai ) and Brazil. The brand also becomes established in the United States .
Finally, the Vespa will be built in thirteen countries and marketed in one hundred and fourteen, including the Australia. the South Africa. the Iran. the Morocco and China .
Worldwide, the Vespa has become a typical Italian product, synonymous with freedom, mobility and usability.
Travel, sports and other records
Giancarlo Tironi, an Italian student, reached the Arctic Circle .
Argentina’s Carlos Velez crosses the Andes from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile .
Roberto Patrignani travels from Milan to Tokyo .
Soren Nielsen goes to Greenland .
James P. Owen of the United States to Tierra del Fuego .
Australian Geoff Dean toured the world.
1980. participation of four Vespa Rally Paris-Dakar but only two crossed the finish line 5 .
Dellière stone, a sergeant in the French Air Force, reached Saigon in fifty-one days left Paris .
The Swiss Giuseppe Morandi traveled 6,000 km, including a majority in the desert.
Ennio Carrega made the round trip Genoa – Lapland in twelve days.
Two Danish journalists go to Bombay .
More recently, in April 2006 to September 2007, the writer and journalist Giorgio Bettinelli, is planning to take a tour of China in Vespa.
Vespa history in a few dates
1946: creation of the first Vespa
The 1950 and 1960. huge success of the Vespa, immortalized in a hundred films, including Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita
1970s. slowing sales.
1988: Vespa ten million sold worldwide since its inception
1990s. resurgence of the scooter.
1996: launch of a Vespa with a four-stroke engine for the fiftieth anniversary of the brand
2006. After sixty years, sixteen million copies sold
2007. end of the sale and manufacture in Europe’s flagship model, the Vespa PX, following the European legislation on two-stroke engines too pollutants 6
2011. the Vespa Piaggio recovery after having passed the tests of the Euro 3 standard. two models are introduced: the PX 125 and PX 150
The Vespa ( Latin / Italian for wasp ) is a motor scooter of the Italian company Piaggio. It is among the world’s best known and most popular types of scooters.
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