A
superb and rare photo of the public debut of the first Vespa scooter prototype of 1945.
Though
the prototype was constructed by Piaggio’s ing.
Corradino D’Ascano in 1945 it was first shown to the public in April
1946. This was also when this photograph was made.
A truly great photograph for any Vespa scooter enthusiast!
The Vespa
scooter has a very interesting history that started -with the American made
Cushman scooter!! Post World War II Italy,
in light of its agreement to cessation of war activities with The Allies, had
its aircraft industry severely restricted in both capability and capacity.
Piaggio emerged from the conflict with its Pontedera fighter plane plant
completely demolished by bombing. Italy's
crippled economy and the disastrous state of the roads did not assist in the
re-development of the automobile markets. Enrico Piaggio, the son of Piaggio's
founder Rinaldo Piaggio, decided to leave the aeronautical field in order to
address Italy's urgent need for a modern and affordable mode of transportation for
the masses. The inspiration for the design of the Vespa dates back to Pre-WWII
Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, USA. These olive green scooters were in Italy
in large numbers, ordered originally by Washington
as field transport for the Paratroops and Marines. The US
military had used them to get around Nazi defence tactics of destroying roads
and bridges in the Dolomites (a section of the Alps) and the Austrian
border areas. Pre-war Piaggio employee Aeronautical engineer General Corradino
D'Ascanio, responsible for the design and construction of the first modern
helicopter by Agusta, was given the job of designing a simple, robust and affordable
vehicle for Ferdinando Innocenti, whose pre-war time focused metal tubing
business Innocenti had suffered the same fate as Piaggio post-war. Innocenti
defined a post-war vehicle to D'Ascanio that had to be easy to drive for both
men and women, be able to carry a passenger, and not get its driver's clothes
dirty. D'Ascanio, who hated motorbikes, designed a revolutionary vehicle. It
was built on a spar-frame with a handlebar gear change, and the engine mounted
directly on to the rear wheel. The front protection "shield" kept the
rider dry and clean in comparison to the open front end on motorcycles. The
pass-through leg area design was geared towards all user groups, including
women, as wearing dresses or skirts made riding a motorcycle a challenge. The
front fork, like an aircraft's landing gear, allowed for easy wheel changing.
The internal mesh transmission eliminated the standard motorcycle chain, a
source of oil, dirt, and aesthetic misery. This basic design allowed a series
of features to be deployed on the frame, which would later allow quick
development of new models. However, D'Ascanio fell out with Innocenti, who
rather than a moulded and beaten spar-frame wanted to produce his Innocenti
frame from rolled tubing, thereby allowing him to revive both parts of his
pre-War company. D'Ascanio disassociated himself with Innocenti, and took his
design to Enrico Piaggio to produce the spar-framed Vespa from 1946. Innocenti,
after overcoming design difficulties and later production difficulties through
his choice of a tubular frame, went on to produce the more costly Lambretta
line of motorscooters. 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". The basic patented
design allowed a series of features to be deployed on the spar-frame which
would later allow quick development of new models. The original Vespa featured
a rear pillion seat for a passenger, or optionally a storage compartment. The
original front protection "shield" was a flat piece of aero metal;
later this developed in to a twin skin to allow additional storage behind the
front shield, similar to the glove compartment in a car. The fuel cap was
located underneath the (hinged) seat, which saved the cost of an additional
lock on the fuel cap or need for additional metal work on the smooth skin. The
scooter had rigid rear suspension and small 8-inch (200 mm) wheels that allowed a compact design and plenty of room for the
rider's legs. The Vespa's enclosed, horizontally-mounted two-stroke 98 cc
engine acted directly on the rear drive wheel through a three-speed
transmission. The twistgrip-controlled gear change involved a system of rods.
The early engine had no cooling, but fan blades were soon attached to the flywheel
(otherwise known as the magneto, which houses the points and generates
electricity for the bike and for the engine's spark) to push air over the cylinder's
cooling fins. The modern Vespa engine is still cooled this way. The mixture of
two-stroke oil in the fuel produced high amounts of smoke, and the engine made
a high buzzing sound like a wasp. The first prototype was given the initials
MP5 and baptized "Paperino," the Italian name for Donald Duck, a
nick-name given to it by the workers because of the strange shape it had.
Enrico Piaggio did not like the design and asked D'Ascanio to redesign it -
which he did with a more aeronautical-derived aerodynamic look. When the second
prototype called MP6, was shown to Enrico Piaggio and he heard the buzzing
sound of the engine he exclaimed: "Sembra una vespa!" ("It
resembles a wasp!") The name stuck. Vespa is both Latin and Italian for
wasp—derived from both the high-pitched noise of the two-stroke engine, and
adopted as a name for the vehicle in reference to its body shape: the thicker
rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod
resembled antennae. Ape (pronounced Ah-pay), is Italian for bee. This was the
three-wheeled variant used for commercial purposes, including the popular auto
rickshaw. Piaggio filed a patent for the Vespa scooter design in April 1946.
The application documents referred to a "model of a practical nature"
for a "motorcycle with rationally placed parts and elements with a frame
combining with mudguards and engine-cowling covering all working parts",
of which "the whole constitutes a rational, comfortable motorcycle
offering protection from mud and dust without jeopardizing requirements of
appearance and elegance". The patent was approved the following December.
The first 13 examples appeared in spring 1946, and reveal their aeronautical
background. In the first examples, one can recognize the typical aircraft
technology. Attention to aerodynamics is evident in all the design, in particular
on the tail. It was also one of the first vehicles to use monocoque
construction (where the body is an integral part of the chassis). The company
was aiming to manufacture the new Vespa in large numbers, and their
longstanding industrial experience led to an efficient Ford-style volume
production line. The scooter was presented to the press at Rome Golf Club,
where journalists were apparently mystified by the strange, pastel coloured,
toy-like object on display. But the road tests were encouraging, and even with
no rear suspension the machine was more manoeuvrable and comfortable to ride
than a traditional motorcycle. Following its public debut at the 1946 Milan
Fair, the first fifty sold slowly—then with the introduction of payment by
installments, sales took off. Piaggio sold some 2,500 Vespas in 1947, over 10,000 in 1948, 20,000 in
1949, and over 60,000 in
1950. The biggest sales promo ever was Hollywood.
In 1952, Audrey Hepburn side-saddled Gregory Peck's Vespa in the film Roman
Holiday for a ride through Rome, resulting in over 100,000 sales. In 1956, John Wayne dismounted his
horse in favor of the two-wheeler to originally get between takes on sets. By
the end of the fifties, Lucia Bosé and her husband, the matador Luis Miguel
Dominguín, as well as Marlon Brando, Dean Martin, and the entertainer Abbe Lane
had become Vespa owners. William Wyler filmed Ben Hur in Rome in 1959,
allowing Charlton Heston to abandon horse and chariot between takes to take a
spin on the Vespa. Vespa clubs popped up throughout Europe, and by 1952, worldwide
Vespa Club membership had surpassed 50,000. By the mid-1950s, Vespas were being
manufactured under licence in Germany,
the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Spain; in the 1960s, production was started in India,
Brazil and Indonesia. By 1956, one million had been sold, then two million by 1960. By the
1960s, the Vespa—originally conceived as a utility vehicle—had come to
symbolize freedom and imagination, and resulted in further sales boosts: four
million by 1970, and ten million by the late 1980s. Between 1957 and 1961 a
reverse-engineered and partially redesigned version of the Vespa was made in USSR
under the name Vjatka-VP150. Improvements were made to the original design and
new models were introduced. The 1948 Vespa 125 had rear suspension and a bigger
engine. The headlamp was moved up to the handlebars in 1953, and had more
engine power and a restyled rear fairing. A cheaper spartan version was also
available. One of the best-loved models was the Vespa 150 GS introduced in 1955
with a 150 cc engine, a long saddle, and the faired handlebar-headlamp unit.
Then came the 50 cc of 1963, and in 1968 Vespa 125 Primavera became one of the
most durable of all. Vespas came in two sizes, referred to as
"largeframe" and "smallframe". The smallframe scooters came
in 50cc, 90cc, 100 cc, and 125 cc versions, all using an engine derived from
the 50 cc model of 1963, and the largeframe scooters in 125cc,150cc,160cc,180cc
and 200 cc displacements using engines derived from the redesigned 125 cc
engine from the late 50's. The largeframe Vespa evolved into the PX range
(produced in 125 and 150 cc versions until July 2007) in the late 70's. The
smallframe evolved into the PK range in the early 80's, although some
vintage-styled smallframes were produced for the Japanese market as late as the
mid 1990's. By the early 1990s, Vespa was in crisis. Its models were selling
slowly; two-strokes were being withdrawn around the world due to environmental
concerns; new Asian manufacturers were stealing market share with
cheaper/lighter bikes; and cars were very cheap. As a result, sales had fallen
and production in Europe had been pulled back to Italy.
Vespa needed a miracle—and a new model, beyond the PX. The ET model range stuck
true to the wasp/aero design principles. It was lighter, more aerodynamic, had
an automatic gearbox and could take a series of engines from a 50 cc in either
two-stroke or four-stroke, up to a 150 cc four stroke. Plus, it was launched
when traffic congestion in major European cities was on the increase, so the
smaller wheel size didn't matter. It was a complete success, and allowed Vespa
to re-enter the North American market in 2001 with a new, more modern style.
When Vespa celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996, more than 15 million of the
scooters had been sold worldwide, making it the most successful scooter of all
time. Other companies vied with Piaggio for market share, but none came close
to emulating the success—or romance—of Vespa.
This
is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Vespa
‘s rich motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to
own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca.
8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it
perfectly suitable for framing!
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