10 Things you never knew about Vespa

1. It was born out of war

Piaggio, the company behind the Vespa, had begun in shipbuilding in the 19^th century before expanding into rail and, in the 20^th century, aircraft. Because of this, during WW2, its factories were extensively damaged. Immediately post-war these were rebuilt with help from the Allies but, like many Axis former aircraft manufacturers, were barred from plane production so instead turned to motorcycle manufacture to meet the huge need for cheap transport.

3. Its designer hated motorcycles

Enrico Piaggio asked accomplished engineer Corradino D'Ascanio to design the new machine. D’Ascanio was a radical free spirit who had built his own glider at 15 and designed Italy's first helicopter. Unfortunately, however, he didn’t like conventional motorcycles, considering them bulky and dirty, so set about making a two-wheeler that was different. He moved the gears to the handlebars, made it a ‘step thru’ with leg shields and footboards so that women could ride it in skirts and hid the engine away to keep the riders and their clothes clean.

5. Some of its success is down to Hollywood

Although an instant hit with the public, the Vespa’s success was accelerated through active promotion (or some of the earliest ‘product placement’) in a series of popular movies. Stars like Anita Ekberg and Audrey Hepburn zipped around Italy on the back of Vespas in La Dolce Vita and Roman Holiday respectively, while many film productions were loaned Vespas for use during shooting – most notably Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd during the filming of Ben Hur.

7. It’s more copied than any other motorcycle

Huge popularity inevitably inspires imitation, but the Vespa’s ‘imitators’ have been far more numerous and varied than most with even the likes of Germany’s Zundapp and Triumph with its Tigress both having a stab in the 1950s. Copies continue to this day. In 2013, Italian police famously seized 11 machines from seven different Chinese manufacturers who had the gall (or ignorance) to display their wares alongside Vespa at the huge EICMA show in Piaggio’s own back yard.

9. There’s currently 12 different Vespas

The days when there was just one Vespa model are long gone. Indeed, a second Vespa model was added as early as 1947 and there’s has been growing family of Vespa ever since. Today, in the UK, 12 different models are offered in six different families: Primavera (50, 125 and 150); Sprint (50, 125 and 150); GTS (300); GTS Super (125 and 300); PX (125 and 150) and 946 (125) all ranging from 50cc two-strokes to 300cc four-strokes.