***UPDATE***
(The Vespa GTS500ie? Could it really be?!)
Here’s a bit of the copy that appears to come from a magazine called “British Dealer News”. I have not seen the actual magazine… but here’s what the scanned image I have says:
“March of the mods
-To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the birth of its iconic Vespa brand next year, Piaggio is to mark the occasion with the launch of the biggest traditional scooter it has ever conceived – the Vespa GTS500ie.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its iconic Vespa brand in 1996, Piaggio flew the world’s press to Rome for an utterly lavish jolly. Besides recruiting then Italian prime minister Romano Prodi to join in the festivities (Brithish Dealer News editor Roger Willis sadly missed his speech because he’d taken on the onerous task of finishing off the burret lunch) it also launched the new-wave ET series. This has sence morphed into the LX range, and the GTS250 Granturismo joined the fold a couple of years ago. But for it’s 60th birthday in 2006 Vespa needs another big splash – and here it is.
Piaggio is planning to mark Vespa’s latest historical milestone with a new definition of the maxiscooter in a very traditional guise – the GTS500ie. It will employ a stiffened version of the GTS250 chassis to cope with the extra weight and power of the proven Piaggio Master engine. This is used in Piaggio’s X9 and B500 maxiscooters, as well as its Gilera Nexus and also the recently launched Aprilia Atlantic. A singer-cylinder, four-valve, 458cc four-stroke, the Master has electronic fule injection and a catalyser for Euro 3 compliance. Estimated max power in the Vespa is 34bhp at 6250rpm (w00t!), with peak torque of 35Nm at 5000rpm.
The projected top speed is just over 80mph – down a lot on other Master applications – suggesting remapping to match performance to the chassis, which has smallish 13-inch wheels by typical maxiscooter standards with a 120/70-13 front and 150/70-13 rear in the tyre (it was hard for me to type tyre and not tire) department, and a single-sided leading-link front end with just a single 260mm disc. Most big-bore scooters are equipped with twin front discs and teleforks. The GTS500′s wheelbase is frisker too, at just 1450mm.
Also on the down side, dimension restrictions have abolished the under seat helmet storage feature found in most modern scooters, simply because of the space needed for the engin as well as a larger fuel tank and air filter.
But, what the hell, it should appeal to fashion victoms who want to make a bit more progress than that which smaller members of the Vespa family are capable of – and give dealers who run on the Vespa Boutique concept a new range to seduce their style-conscious customer base.
The Vespa GTS500ie is expected to be unveiled at either the Milan show this autumn or during the presentation to celebrate the brand joining the….”
Well… That’s all I could make out of this… But should be enough to get your juices flowing.
Comments?
24. August 2005 at 7:09 pm
Dibs on the first test ride!
And red would be a very fine color, thank you very much.
25. August 2005 at 3:53 am
Haha! Hey Nate! Thanks for the link. I’ll add more details later. But… Does that thing even LOOK big enough to be hiding 500cc’s?
25. August 2005 at 4:37 am
Sweet Jesus I hope it is for real. I hope it can be remapped for more speed too. 80mph makes little sense from a 500cc. I hope it weighs not too much more than a GT200. That would be one of the lighter 500cc “motorcycles” out there.
28. August 2005 at 4:25 am
Sadly, it has been said elsewhere that this was an exceptionally good hoax. Too bad, because it seemed a rather exciting prospect to me.
1. September 2005 at 9:10 pm
Have you considered adding information about the Aprilia Mojito? I have one and absolutely love it. Even gone 70mph on my way back from the gym (150cc). Great retro style (esp. blue) and seems to be a bit less expensive than some of the others.
1. September 2005 at 9:15 pm
I actually LOVE the looks of the Mojito. I would have bought one, but when I was scooter shopping only the 50cc was available. I’ve got a friend at Texas Coffee Traders with a 150 that I should go take for a spin.
If you’d like to take a picture and write a little something on it I’ll post it up! Thanks!