How Vespa Scooters Are Made _ The Making Of

Hi guys, this is Claudia and today we're in Ponte d'Era in the province of Pisa in Tuscany in Italy at the headquarters of Vespa and Piaggio Group. So today we're going to take a tour of the factory and see how Vespas are made. Let's go, follow me. Vespas are more than just scooters. Over the years, they have become an icon of Italian culture and of the made-in-Italy itself. They have been featured endlessly on the big screen in movies like Fellini's La Donce Vita or Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. In the last 10 years, Vespa has made and sold over 1.6 million scooters all over the world. Vespa debuted in 1946 at the Rome Golf Club, and it quickly gained popularity. It went from selling 2,500 scooters in 1947 to more than 20 times that in only three years, selling 60,000 in 1950. The first models were sold for 55,000 lire, or about $245 at the time. Vespa prices were very competitive. And this, together with its sleek design, is what turned it into a success. Corradino Tascani, his engineer, didn't really like motorcycles, and he designed this Vespa around those who would have driven it, but without those ties that were typical of motorcycles at the time. It had to be an easy vehicle to use, protective, comfortable, and he designed it precisely thinking of a use that could be his. Vespa differs from other scooters in that its body frame is made entirely of steel stampings that are welded together, which is exactly how Piaggio made his airplanes when he launched the scooter in 1946. The welding line at the Ponte d'Era factory is fully robotic. It uses a combination of spot welding and arc welding. The final revisions of the chassis are done by hand by an experienced operator who's there to spot any defects on the steel. We then move to the paint shop. The body frame is first coated in a black cut-off races primer, then operators seal the joining line between the left and right body works and the front shield and the footwork. Another primer is applied to guarantee the correct adhesion between the cut-off races and the base coat. The color of this primer is linked to the base coat, so a black or a gray primer will be applied to darker vehicles, and a white one for a vehicle that is painted red, for example. The finish is cured by baking it for 40 minutes at 85 degrees Celsius, then polished to remove any imperfections. A conveyor brings the body frames to the final assembly line. At the Ponte d'Era factory, there are six assembly lines. Three lines assemble Piaggio brands Liberty, Energy, MP3 and Beverly. The remaining lines are for Vespa GTS, Vespa Primavera, Vespa Sprint, Vespa 946 and the new electric range, Vespa Elettrica. We follow the assembly of the Vespa Primavera 125. The assembly line moves continuously, and a new Vespa is ready every three minutes. It's all done by hand, using electronic screwdrivers. Each piece has a barcode that the operator scans to get the right settings. The front fork's design, with the shock absorber on the left side and the wheel assembled on the right side, resemble that of an airplane wheel. At the end of the line, a technician tests the lights and the speed gauges. Aside from the Ponte d'Era factory, Piaggio also opened a factory in Vietnam in 2013 to cater for the great demand in Asian markets. Vespa is not just a vehicle different from all the others, but also a symbol, an icon. Vespa represents the Italian style, represents the Italian culture, because, in any case, within all the values ​​that have made our country famous, from art to architecture, to food, to colors, the shapes of Vespa could only have been born in Italy. Vespa is a motherly object to caress, it is feminine, it is sexy, and it has been able to transform itself from a vehicle to a manifesto of a culture, of the typical product of the Italian industrial genius.