Piaggio Classic Cars for Sale

Piaggio & C. SpA is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer Operating under seven brand names: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilero, Aprilia, Moto, Scarabeo, Derbi and Guzzi. It is best known for the iconic Vespa scooter, designed by Corradino D'Ascanio in 1945. The company logo shows the letter P against a blue background, a diagonal line splits to light blue with the word 'Piaggio'.

Trains, Planes, Automobiles and Ships

In Autumn 1882, Enrico Piaggio purchased a plot of land, near Genoa in Italy. He was joined by his son Rinaldo in a venture to build a sawmill, supplying timber to the thriving ship industry. In 1884, twenty year old Rinaldo founded the company that we know today as Piaggio, specialising in naval furnishings. Rinaldo successfully established himself as an innovative businessman, forming close relations with the Odero family, and in 1889 the company branched into the railway sector. In the early 1900's, attention turned to aeronautics, with the purchase of a struggling company in Pisa. Piaggio had become a significantly large company, with a remarkable ability to adapt to economic changes; as the war created problems, Rinaldo and business partner Attillio Odero created lucrative solutions. In 1923, Piaggio became a successful military aircraft producer, making it's debut with the P2 fighter monoplane. Other notable models included racing seaplane Piaggio P.7, and the P. 108 bombardier.

A New Era

In 1938, Rinaldo Piaggio died. His two sons, Armando and Enrico took over as chief executive officers. World War II had caused devastation, and the factories had been destroyed as a result of Piaggio's successful contributions to military production. Armando took responsibility for rebuilding this sector while Enrico turned his attention to developing an affordable mode of transport. The first prototype was the paperino, made in Biella in 1945, but Enrico was not satisfied, and he enlisted the help of aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, designer of the first helicopter model, and the first motor scooter. In 1946, the revolutionary Vespa (meaning 'wasp'in relation to it's appearance) was launched, and within a decade over a million had been produced! While this launched Piaggio's success as a leading international manufacturer, the same model was used for the Ape (meaning Bee, in reference to productivity), a three wheeled, compact transport vehicle, produced in 1948. A year later came the marine version; The Moscone. In 1964 the company split, becoming Piaggio & C. The rich historical legacy is showcased in the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera.

Fast Forward

Piaggio are still leading pioneers in motor technology; In 2009 the MP3 became the worlds first hybrid scooter. Piaggio Fast Forward was launched in 2015 and 2016 brought the Vespa Elettrica project as well as the Wi-Bike.