Vespa
The scooter whose body hides the engine and protects your clothes.
Piaggio had made aircraft and needed something new after the war. Corradino D'Ascanio, who did not like motorcycles, designed a vehicle you could sit on like a chair, with clean clothes.
The Vespa came in 1946; the name means wasp. It gave Italy mobility after the war and became a symbol of modern life.
Materials: Sheet steel
Manufacture: Monocoque body in pressed steel, made by Piaggio.
The continuous floor and the leg shield at the front.
The engine hidden under the rounded rear.
The wheels mounted on a single-sided axle, like an aircraft's landing gear.
The pressed sheet-steel body is self-supporting and covers the engine. The front wheel is mounted on a single-sided fork, like an aircraft’s landing gear, and the gears are operated from the handlebars.
A broad leg shield at the front, a rounded cover over the engine on the right-hand side and small wheels.