Vespa, an Italian icon of the two wheels, does not stop to conquer everyone hearts with its practicality and its vintage design lines. Why? Because of Vespa 70 years of history.
In 2013, for the World Industrial Design Day, Vespa was among top twelve products that marked design history in the last century, together with Macintosh by Apple in 1984. The decision was taken after a CNN survey dispensed to international design critics.
“Vespa is part of design history. Its totally revolutionary concept, its project born by placing the human figure at the centre of the creative idea, make it an object worthy of inclusion in the Olympus of industrial design.”
In deed, the invention of Vespa on April 1946 was something revolutionary compared to the motorcycles that circulated in that time, and it was maybe because it was developed by an aeronautical engineer.
The origins: the myth of Vespa
Let’s take Vespa’s history step by step.
Vespa is a scooter model by Piaggio. Founded in Genoa in 1984 by Rinaldo Piaggio, the firm was specialized on producing ship fittings, engineering and railways. After the World Wars, Piaggio entered the aeronautics market, and it soon became one of the most important air manufacturers in Italy.
After Second World War, Enrico Piaggio (Rinaldo’s son) started to lead Pontedera and Biella factories. He had a clear goal on his mind: to create a two-wheels transport, inexpensive, that could fit to every citizen of a Country which was rising up after the war.
After the first studies about a consumer low-price scooter, in 1943 the MP5 Prototype (Moto Piaggio 5) was released, nicknamed “Paperino” (Donald Duck) for its funny and clumsy shape. The model was not in the likes of Enrico, who decided to change the strategy.
Enrico Piaggio gave the project to Corradino D’Ascanio, an aeronautic engineer, because he knew that Corradino did not love motorcycles: he considered them uncomfortable, dirty and unwieldy. That is exactly why Piaggio chose D’Ascanio: only someone who hated motorbikes could create an innovative one.
Enrico Piaggio was not wrong. Corradino, thanks to his experience in aeronautic engineering, found out revolutionary solutions to solve problems that bothered him:
- He eliminated the bike chain
- He created a skin which could avoid the biker to get dirty
- He positioned the gear system on the handlebars, in order to favor the drive experience
- He realized an ergonomic bike model: it was not needed to climb over it, and the driver could simply seat.
Fonte: http://wide.piaggiogroup.com/
The output was the MP6 Prototype, a motorcycle with sinuous shapes and an original design. When Enrico first saw it, at a glance he exclaimed: “It looks like a wasp!” (wasp is Vespa in italian), and so Vespa was the chosen name.
In 2016 Vespa turns 70, and it’s amazingly healthy
Vespa’s popularity is legendary: from the moment it was born, the moto scooter soon spread globally, and it became the number one in the market. Its success went on until today, when it turns 70. Vespa iconic style is still in fashion!
For the 70th birthday occasion, Piaggio Group marketed a special Vespa design. Also, since April 2016 many events with the purpose to celebrate Vespa are on the road, such as rallies, concerts, parties, events and exhibitions.
At Piaggio Museum in Pontedera an exhibition called Touring with Vespa: a 70-year long adventure was organized. Its concept goes around the shared experience within many generations of Vespa users from all around the world.
If someone could not attend the exhibition, is still in time to visit Exhibition Vespa: 70 years for 70 models at Museo Nicolis in Villafranca di Verona, which will be open until October 30th. The exhibition retraces Vespa’s history showing both the most characteristic versions and the most popular models. This is not only a motorcycle exhibition: it is above all a collection of stories from the ages that Vespa went through: movies and songs elements that accompanied it in the last seven decades. The exhibition is a mixture of history, style and pop culture, which celebrates the ability in evolving still remaining the same.
So here is a tribute video to wish Vespa a happy birthday!
Tribe celebrates 70 years of Vespa in a really special way, extolling its iconic style and bringing the typical design elements of the Italian Icon in new products by Tribe: Tribe Vibe and Tribe Move. Presented at IFA 2016 at the beginning of September, they will be available soon.
