About Piaggio
The story of this great Italian motorcycle manufacturer started in Sestri Ponente (Genova) in 1884 when young Rinaldo Piaggio took over his father’s business and converted it into a luxury furniture company. Back then he didn’t know that his company was destined to win the hearts of all of Italy but with a different product.
Piaggio & Co, in the beginning of the twentieth century, provided Italian and foreign ships with high-end furniture. It has to be said that back then Italy had a thriving economy. But Rinaldo was in doubt, whether this sector had opportunities to really grow in the future.
This is why he decided to expand into railway business which allowed him to build a team of talented engineers who would eventually help his company become leaders in modern automotive industry.
The start of the WWI opened up a new business opportunity for Rinaldo - aviation. His company started building and repairing seaplanes. Already in 1917 Piaggio acquired another Italian aviation company which eventually helped him avoid the postwar crisis and later take over one of the rivaling companies.
In 1924 the company acquired Pontedera factory which became an important factory for the company, where it was able to build its own aircraft engines and, later on, other types of vehicles.
One of the first victories after the purchase of the companies was a man named Giovanni Pegna, an extremely talented designer and engineer. He became the man who designed the four-engine P108 which was the last great Italian-built plane before the WWII.
The end of the war meant that the country would have to rebuild itself and that people would have to have a vehicle that would allow them to get around. The first Piaggio scooters, designed by Renzo Spolti, MP1 and MP5 (MP stands for Moto Piaggio) were nicknamed ‘Paperino’. Enrico Piaggio was not impressed with the design and the MP6 prototype with all sorts of innovations was produced in 1945. Already in 1946, a year later, a motorcycle was produced that would make history - Vespa 98.
The next step to achieve was to become green! Piaggio has long been an innovator in green technologies and respecting the nature and in 1975 they produced their first electric Ape. Then came the MP3 - the first ever three-wheeled scooter.
In the twenty-first century the company continues to be eco-friendly and goes on to invest in sustainable vehicles, producing MP3 Hybrid and introducing Vespa Elettrica.
Moto blog
Sun, 01 Apr 2012
Speed is king, but sometimes you need a simpler machine for simple rides. Scooters offer highly coveted carrying capacity as well as comfort, combined with functionality for every type of rider. Today's scooters are growing not only in sales numbers but engine cubes.
Sun, 01 Apr 2012
Pornography is a matter of geography, or so they say. Turn on Italian TV at prime time and you'll be showered with a myriad of game shows whose only purpose seems to be showing leggy go-go dancers strut their stuff in borderline X-rated fashion. Makes you wonder if there are any TV aerials in the Vatican.
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