Who made the original Vespa?
Piaggio & Co. S.p.A.
The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.
When did they start making Vespa scooters?
April 1946
In April 1946, Vespa introduced its first scooter in a Golf Club in Rome. The first sales of Vespa were managed through a small dealer network. The Vespa 98 Corsa was built specifically to show the world the capacity of the small scooter to be competitive in races.
Who designed scooter?
The wooden kick scooter with skate wheels, crude but very effective, dates back to sometime in the late 19th century, when motorized bikes were also developed. The first motorized scooter for adults, the Autoped, was developed in 1913 and patented in 1916 by inventor Arthur Hugo Cecil Gibson (seen in cover photo).
What is the highest CC for a scooter?
There is often some integral storage space, either under the seat, built into the front leg shield, or both. Scooters have varying engine displacements and configurations ranging from 50 cc single-cylinder to 850 cc twin-cylinder models.
Who was the inventor of the Vespa car?
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. Piaggio was founded in Genoa in 1884 by twenty-year-old Rinaldo Piaggio.
When did Piaggio start making the Vespa 98?
Piaggio propelled by the positive reactions to the scooter went into production with the Vespa 98, which sold well with the first years’ output being 2,484. This led to the larger 125 cc model being launched in 1947. In its second year, the production had gone up to 10,353 and further increasing by 9,500 by the end of 1948.
Why was the First World War so important to Vespa?
Two wars are highly important features on the Vespa timeline. Built by Piaggio, the factory founded in Genoa in 1884 by Rinaldo Piaggio to fit out luxury ships saw the First World War facilitate a change in product and the company who was now manufacturing rail carriages and coaches went into the production of aircraft, including seaplanes.
When was the millionth Vespa sold in the world?
The sales of the Vespa have continued to grow and, in June 1956, the millionth scooter rolled off the production line; 1960, a mere four years later, the number would rise to two million, paving the way for the scooter to go down in history as a unique phenomenon in the worlds’ motorised travel history.
Who is the manufacturer of the Vespa scooter?
Vespa (Italian pronunciation: ) is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.
When was the 70 year anniversary of the Vespa?
Design classic and symbol of the “dolce vita”, the Vespa turns 70 on April 23 and Italy’s most celebrated scooter is buzzing along nicely after tripling sales in the last decade. It was in Florence that the wasp-shaped two-wheeler was born, Enrico Piaggio having registered the patent in the Tuscan capital on April 23, 1946.
How did the La Vespa get its name?
It is said that in 1946 when D’Ascanio showed the prototype, it was Enrico Piaggio, who, because of its narrow waist and buzzing sound, named it la Vespa, meaning the wasp.
When did Piaggio invent the Vespa motorcycle?
On 23 April 1946, at 12 o’clock in the central office for inventions, models and makes of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Florence, Piaggio e C. S.p.A. took out a patent for a “motorcycle of a rational complexity of organs and elements combined with a frame with mudguards and a casing covering the whole mechanical part”.