When bees find nectar, they will dance all kinds of dances: if the honey source is far away, then dance the 8-character dance; if the honey source is closer, dance a circular dance; if the honey source is facing the sun, the bees will dance head up; if the honey source carries the sun, the bees will dance head down...
Vespa, the "Vespa" from Italy, also has colorful dances. Although the elegant and skillful Vespa, with its charm and charm of thousands of styles and tender feelings, provokes people's reverie, it definitely does not indulge in the children's world before the flower and the moon, and the two emotions are tight, but actively expands the territory, not only can rush to the arena to fight in blood, show the iron-blooded fighting spirit, the side of the heroic dry cloud, but also accompany the adventurers to explore and hunt, expressing the courage and pride of "thousands of rivers and mountains are only idle". This time, let's take a look at a different side of Vespa's little-known story.
After World War II, in order to revive and make a comeback, Enrique, the son of the founder of the Italian company Piaggio, applied to rebuild the factory in Pentidra, Italy, requesting that the Allies be transported back to the production machines transferred to Germany and the Biella region. With allied approval, Enrique and his brother Armando were immediately put into post-war reconstruction, and Piaggio's second venture began. In response to the harsh road conditions and poor traffic after the war, Enrique decided to open up the light motor vehicle business after in-depth investigation of social needs, which was inseparable from the help of aeronautical engineer and inventor Corardino da Sanio.
According to Enrique's requirement to "make personal maneuvering tools that can be afforded by everyone and have low fuel consumption", a micro scooter is designed on the basis of a paratrooper motorcycle, which is the MP5. Due to the peculiar shape of the MP5, it was given the nickname "Donald Duck". The picky Enrique was not happy with "Donald Duck" and asked Coladino to redesign it, but the aeronautical engineer had a soft spot for "Donald Duck".
Corardino does not like traditional motorcycles, and when he examines the modeling structure with the professional eyes of a designer, he finds that the traditional motorcycle driving position is neither comfortable nor convenient, especially for the elderly and women; in addition, the oil-coated drive chain will make the body dirty, and the loosely exposed wiring harnesses and parts are not elegant enough. Therefore, with rich aviation design experience and talent, Corardino conceived of an integral structure according to the idea of aircraft design, that is, the entire body was covered by a fairing, so as to obtain an elegant and neat appearance; in order to replace the tire more conveniently, he designed a center bracket similar to the landing gear of the aircraft; due to the use of small diameter wheels, the weight of the car is lower and safer; the unique pedal structure makes the rider more convenient to get up and down and sit more easily and comfortably... Coladino continued to refine and refine his design concept and designed the prototype, which was code-named MP6. When Enrique looked closely at the MP6 prototype, he found that the middle part of the rider's seat was wide, while the "waist" at the footboard looked very slim, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't this just a wasp!" So as soon as the word was decided, the figurative name was given to MP6, and the name Vespa (Vespa, Italian for "Vespa") was born, and the colorful world of scooters began.
Vespa has been competing in European events (both off-road and road speed races) since the 1950s and has performed well and won a number of awards. For example, in 1951, Piaggio built a Vespa 125 to compete in road speed races and successfully set a new world record with an average speed of 171.102 km/h; in the same year, at the "International Six-Day Race" held in the northern Italian city of Varese, Vespa became the big winner, winning a total of 9 gold medals, becoming the best Italian team at that time. In 1952, a Frenchman named Georges Monnarette drove a modified "amphibious Vespa" to the Paris-London Race and successfully conquered the English-French Channel. Even Vespa dared to participate in the world's cruelest Paris-Dakar Rally, and at the second Paris Dakar Rally held in 1980, Smonott and Cheney Oscar each drove the Vespa PX 200 to compete, crossing 23 countries and conquering 10,000km of danger, and successfully reached the finish line!
Compared to the events, the story of Vespa and the adventurer is more mysterious and exciting. From scorching Africa to the icy Arctic, from the rolling Andes mountains to the northernmost headland in Europe, vespa's footprints have been left everywhere: Roberto Baccianani drove a Vespa from Milan to Tokyo; Soren Nelson roamed the icy Greenland with Vespa; Wally Bogan rode vespa around the Antilles, the main island of the West Indies; and the Australian Joff Dean's travel plans were even more ambitious. Drive the Vespa around the world...
Let me give you an example. In 1992, writer and journalist Giorgio Betinelli drove a Vespa from Rome to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in March 1993; from 1994 to 1995, he drove Vespa from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, a journey of 36,000 km; from 1995 to 1996, Giorgio completed the journey from Melbourne to Cape Town, crossing a total of 52,000 km in 12 months In 1997, he still refused to give up, and began a three-year roaming from Chile, passing through the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and all the way to Tasmania Island, located in the southeast of Oceania, to stop, and vespa has traveled 150,000 kilometers. In total, Giorgio has completed more than 250,000 kilometers of travel in Vespa over the years!
These races and travel clips are a drop in the ocean in Vespa's vast story. This small Italian "Vespa" constantly extends the horizons of life-loving riders, opens up free space, and brings unlimited excitement and vitality!