History of Vespa

A core value of each brand available at Rahal Piaggio Indianapolis is heritage and a respect for their history.  Let’s take a look back at the history of Vespa, and how they have become a style and innovation mainstay.  Vespa was founded in Pontadera, Italy in 1946 shortly after World War II ended.  Like many countries, Italy was rebuilding after the war.  Vespa’s scooters came onto the scene as not only a beautiful product, but an incredibly useful one as well, and caught the attention of civilians, resulting in Vespa becoming a part of their everyday lives.  The first model was the Vespa 98cc, which was discontinued in 1947 and replaced with the more powerful Vespa 125.  Through founder Corradino d’Ascanio’s vision and eye for design and engineering, Vespa continued to grow, and create scooters that quickly transported riders where they needed to go throughout their day, and began offering bright colors, giving personality and joy to their lineup. From the 1950s Vespa’s ad campaigns became widely recognized due to those vibrant colors and fun nature, cultivating a Vespa lifestyle that has carried through to today.  The 1960s brought about an expansion of that lifestyle, connecting Vespa with the fashion world and pop culture, which still holds strong today, evidenced through Vespa’s collaboration with Dior, Justin Bieber, and the Disney100 special project.  Vespa’s founding being grounded in innovation, utility, and design have resulted in Vespa being at the forefront of the industry for generations.  

View Rahal Piaggio Indianapolis’ Vespa inventory in our showroom, or via this link.  

Address:  9830 N Michigan Rd, Carmel, IN 46032

To learn more about Vespa’s story, follow this link.