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Piaggio Vespa 400 - Italian street flea from France

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Created on January 31, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

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2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Five years in development and five years in production

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Pretty fellow

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Simple and pretty

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Friendly face

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Engine in the rear

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Over 30,000 built

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The instrument cluster of the Luxe version

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Interior for two people

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Footwell between the front wheels

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Spare wheel under the passenger seat

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Simple two-spoke steering wheel

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Of the three forward gears, the first was not synchronized

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The gap dimensions are considerable

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Plastic rear window

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The Luxe version got some chrome trim

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Ran on 10'' wheels

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The same lettering as on the scooters

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The tank is next to the engine

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - The export version delivered 20 instead of 14 hp

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1961) - Nameplate

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Particularly practical in the city

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - The road flea

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - The Vespa 400 was also popular with men

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - It couldn't accommodate a large family, but it was enough for 2 people

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Proud owner

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - a satisfied Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel of the small car

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - She probably couldn't decide on a color and bought two at once

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Jean Behra and Juan Manuel Fangio on the test drive

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Two "Luxe" models with chrome trim

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (19611957 - Nimble even in the city

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - The seats offer the most necessary comfort

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Chassis before installation

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - There was a plastic window at the rear

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - With the seat folded forward, access to the rear is released

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - spare wheel under the passenger seat, rear seat recesses on which small children can travel at best

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Sliding and triangular windows for fresh air intake

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - The engines for Europe produced 14 hp, for the export market the power was increased to 20 hp

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Next to the engine was the oil reservoir with a mixing device. After refueling, the amount of gasoline could be set and the device added the required amount of oil by turning a crank. An automatic mixer was installed from 1959.

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Clear exhaust

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Rear axle with engine

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Technology made visible (see-through drawing)

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - not much technology on board (view drawing)

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - Optimum use of space

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Piaggio Vespa 400 (1957) - A total of 30976 units were produced

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Summary

The Italian road flea from France ensured that the street scene (especially in France and Belgium) became more colorful. At the Paris Motor Show in 1957, hearts flew to it, and today the rare two-door car with the original folding roof is a sought-after cult object. This report tells the story of the small car and shows it in many pictures and in the sales brochure from back then.

This article contains the following chapters

Long development period
Celebrities at the presentation
Proven engine concept
Original solution
Without luxury
Practical ventilation
Rescue measure without effect

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In Europe, people wanted to enjoy the long-awaited peace after the war and discover the world, but mobility was slow to take off. After a boom in scooters such as the Vespa or Lambretta, cabin scooters appeared on the roads in Germany, and in Italy the Fiat 500 Topolino took to the roads. The popular "Topo" was replaced by the 600 in 1955, which was followed by the 500 in 1957. From 1952, Vespa manufacturer Piaggio also developed a two-seater with four wheels, which was launched on the market in 1957 at almost the same time as the Fiat Nuova 500. Piaggio presumably thought that the competition from the "Cinquecento" meant that it had little chance of sales in its home country, and therefore chose France as its market. Consequently, the Piaggio Vespa 400 was then also built by the subsidiary "Société ACMA" (Ateliers de Construction de Motocycles et Automobiles) in Fourchambault near Nevers.

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