BMW is entering the scooter market this year with its C600 Sport and C650 GT maxi-scooters, but the German manufacturer almost entered the scooter segment nearly 60 years earlier. In the 1950s, BMW produced a pair of scooter prototypes it called the R10.

The first prototype produced in 1953 was equipped with a 175cc Single producing about 8hp while the 1954 prototype (pictured above) was equipped with a 200cc producing about 10hp. Unlike the successful Vespas of that era the BMW 1954 R10 scooter prototype (pictured here) had a large fairing that served as both leg shield and front fender. The end result however made it look a bit like a cyclops version of Snoopy from Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.

Though the R10 scooter never entered production, BMW is trotting it out for display at the second annual Concours di Motociclette, a side event to the Concours D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, May 25-27 at Lake Como in northern Italy. Continue Reading »