Vespa.com, and will begin accepting bookings online for its new limited edition Vespa 946 scooter. Unfortunately, the online booking will only be available in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

That means those of us in North America will have to settle for waiting for our local Vespa dealers to begin taking orders for the Vespa 946. But those of you in the eligible markets can visit the “Store” section of the Vespa.com site and order their 946.

Available in its current configuration in either black or white until the end of 2013, the Vespa 946 is somewhat of a “halo” model, an exclusive high-end and high-priced model designed to give the Vespa brand a feeling of prestige. Vespa will produce a limited number and then create a new  limited series in 2014. Continue Reading »

The Piaggio Group announced it has secured a €60 million (US$77.6 million) financing deal with the European Investment Bank to fund the development of new products.

The seven-year loan will fund research and development projects at Piaggio’s Italian facilities. The loan is in addition to investments Piaggio already budgeted for the period from 2013 to 2015 to develop new products. The new research and development projects will focus on three fields: safety, fuel-efficient combustion engines and alternative fuel technologies.

For safety, Piaggio will be working on active, passive and preventative safety measures. This is especially important in light of recent legislation enacted by the European Parliament to make ABS mandatory for motorcycles and scooters with engines larger than 125cc by 2016. Piaggio has already gotten a start toward that goal, gradually adding ABS to models such as the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 R and RSV4 Factory. Continue Reading »

We got a peak at the new Vespa 946 late last week but Piaggio has now released more pictures and information on the bold new scooter. Presented at the 2012 EICMA Show a year after its original concept was unveiled.

The new Vespa 946 is a mix of both the past and the future. It maintains many of Vespa’s signature features and traces a lineage back to the MP6, the original Vepsa prototype from 1946. The designers at Piaggio’s Pontedera Style Centre merged the classic styling with futuristic elements in the cantilevered seat, sleek curves and the latest technological advancements.

For the first time, Vespa is moving away from its steel body to an aluminum alloy for reduced weight and improved fuel economy. Another first for Vespa is the horizontally-mounted rear shock absorber which also features four adjustable preload positions. Like other new Piaggio-family scooters such as the Aprilia SRV 850 and Piaggio BV350, the Vespa 946 comes equipped with ABS and traction control. Other modern touches include LED lighting and LCD display. Continue Reading »

Piaggio surprised many at last year’s EICMA show with its Vespa Quarantasei concept, blending the company’s iconic styling with a futuristic new look. Judging by the feedback we’ve seen in our coverage of the Quarantasei – since renamed the Vespa 946 – scooter fans have been eagerly awaiting news of the final production version of the new Vespa.

Nearly a year later, the final production version of the Vespa 946 has been revealed, just days ahead of the 2012 EICMA show. The production version does not stray too far from the original concept. The mirrors and turn signals are new, of course, and Piaggio has slightly tweaked the exhaust heat shield while the seat mount looks like it’s been reinforced without changing the hanging cantilevered design.

Beyond these minor practical changes, the 946 keeps the concept’s styling (pictured below), which itself was inspired by the original 1946 Vespa MP6 prototype. As with the concept model, the production version uses an all-aluminum body, breaking away from Vespa’s traditional use of steel while helping make the scooter lighter and therefore more fuel efficient. Continue Reading »

The Piaggio Group announced the 2012 Vespa LX and Vespa S scooters will come equipped with the company’s next-generation three-valve engine.

The new “3V” engine, available in 125 and 150 iterations, was first introduced in the Vespa 946 concept at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan. The air-cooled fuel-injected four-stroke Single-cylinder engine was designed at Piaggio‘s Pontedera plant with a focus on improving fuel economy and reducing emissions without sacrificing performance.

A key goal for the designers was reducing friction and improving fluid dynamics. The engine uses a new crankshaft with reduced friction on the cam axle bearings and roller rockers. Piaggio says it decided on a three-valve system (two intake, one exhaust) because it improves the fuel mixture. The spark plug is now located in a new position to improve cooling in the cylinder head.

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The futuristic-looking Vespa 946 prototype will be on display at the Italian embassy in Paris, France, as part of the 2012 Designer’s Days, a five-day celebration of design.

The Vespa 946 (formerly known as the Vespa Quarantasei), will be displayed May 31 – June 4 in the embassy’s courtyard as part of an exhibit called “The Seven Obsessions of Italian Design”. The exhibit, curated by the Triennale Museum in Milan, features a number of Italian-designed items including a vintage Lambretta A.

The prototype was first unveiled at the 2011 EICMA show, showing the styling of future Vespa scooters while still reflecting on the brand’s history, and more specifically, the original 1945 MP6 prototype that was the forefather of all Vespas since. Continue Reading »

Piaggio confirmed it will be importing the production version of its Vespa 946 (a.k.a. the “Quarantasei“) to North America, representing the next generation of scooters from the iconic Italian brand. The 946 was presented alongside the Aprilia Caponord 1200 and Moto Guzzi California 1400 at Piaggio’s North American dealer meeting last week in Miami. No dates were announced for the Vespa 946 but odds are it will arrive on these shores in late 2012 as a 2013 models alongside the Caponord and new California.

The Vespa 946 was first unveiled at the 2011 EICMA show as the Quarantasei concept model. “Quarantasei” is Italian for 46, which represents the year 1946 when Vespa first began producing scooters, but the design represents more about Vespa’s future than it does the past.

The 946 maintains Vespa’s signature design elements while adding futuristic style elements from its metallic paint, hanging seat and swooping lines.

Continue Reading »