The 2211 Daily

There was a record turnout for the 40th edition of this huge international Vespa rally. Thousands of fans peacefully invaded Turin to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Vespa, the world�s most famous scooter, which motorised generations of youngsters and has sold over 16 million units to date.

27 June 2006 � The 40th edition of EuroVespa, the biggest Vespa rally in the world, was a smash success. The rally ended in Turin with a final parade through the streets of the city, all the way to the Royal Gardens. Hundreds of local Vespa fans joined more than 3,200 vespisti from over 20 countries worldwide officially registered for the rally, taking the total number of participants to an estimated 8,000 on 5,000 Vespas.

In the course of the three-day rally held from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 June, thousands of Vespa fans flocked to the buy-sell-and-swap markets and exhibitions dedicated to the history of the legendary Italian scooter and the Vespa as a true work of art: �VESPA, A 60-YEAR HISTORY� and �VESPARTE�.
Large numbers of Vespa fans also got on their Vespas to take part in the many organised tours through the Piedmont capital and its many splendid attractions, such as the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, Superga and the Reggia di Venaria.
The event ended with a huge final parade, with a long procession of Vespas of every epoch snaking through the streets of Turin all the way to the Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens). Suffice it to say that it took onlookers over half an hour to watch the entire parade go past, from the first to the last vehicle!

Besides being the biggest Vespa rally in history, EuroVespa 2006 was also the first rally to be held under the aegis of the new Vespa World Club, set up on 14 March this year on the 60th anniversary of the Vespa to promote, unite and co-ordinate all the Vespa clubs in the world.

Details on:

The EuroVespa 2006 website: www.eurovespa2006.it
The Vespa World Club website: www.vespaworldclub.com
The new official Vespa website: www.vespa.com

VESPA CLUBS
The Vespa legend was born at practically the same time as the vehicle, so much so that many were inspired, from 1946 onwards, to share their passion for the Vespa. Thus the first Vespa Clubs were born, in Italy to begin with and then abroad, leading eventually, in 2006, to the creation of the Vespa World Club to coincide with the Vespa�s 60th anniversary.
The grouping of Vespa fans was closely linked to Vespa sales on international markets: by 1953 there were over 10,000 Piaggio service stations worldwide, including in Asia and America, and over 50,000 fans were members of Vespa Clubs worldwide.

From the 1940s onwards, Enrico Piaggio, backed by Italian sports journalist Renato Tassinari, organised meets and rallies to create growing interest in the new product, with all kinds of initiatives including the setting up and spread of Vespa Clubs. These organisations of Vespa fans would strengthen the image of the scooter and testify to the efficacy of Piaggio�s sales and service network.

At the Fiera Campionaria in Milan in 1948, Italian Vespa Clubs organised a rally called the �Silver Swarm� after the first Vespa model�s trademark silvery-green colour.
In 1951, 20,000 Vespa fans took part in the Italian Vespa Day. Throughout the 1950s, races of every kind were held, from regional and national rallies in Italy and abroad (the Swiss Tour, the 2,000 km Three Seas tour, the all-female Audax tour and the 1,000 km tour were among the best-known rallies) to races that pitted Vespa riders against fans of the emerging Lambretta Innocenti. Riding a Vespa increasingly became synonymous with freedom, the use of space and easier social relations: in short, the Vespa became a social phenomenon that would mark an entire epoch and be pictured incessantly in films, literature and advertising campaigns for many products as well as in the behaviour of a changing society that was keen to leave the destruction of World War II behind.
The Vespa Club Europe was set up in Milan on 8 February 1953 on the initiative of Renato Tassinari, with unanimous support from delegates representing the Vespa Clubs of Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland, to co-ordinate and develop relations, events and links among Vespa fans in individual countries.

Two months after the creation of the Vespa Club Europe, Austria, Denmark, the U.K., Portugal, Spain and Sweden joined the founding members. Subsequently, the Vespa Club Mondial was set up and, together with the Vespa Club Europe, came to be named F�d�ration Internationale des Vespa Clubs (disbanded on 30 November 2005).
Finally, on 14 March 2006, the Vespa World Club was set up to co-ordinate and promote all the Vespa clubs in the world.
Piaggio promoted the setting up of this new association, whose objective is to draw on the finest experiences and initiatives created by Vespa fans in various countries, enhance the role of national associations and support all Vespa Clubs.
Roberto Leardi, President of the Vespa Club of Italy, has been named President of the Vespa World Club.

VESPA: A MODERN MYTH
From 1946 to the present, the Vespa has had a unique history of technology and style and established itself as an Italian design icon with over 16 million units sold on five continents. The Vespa is a common sight in towns all over the world and the flagship of a lifestyle where freedom is the keyword.

In 2006, having turned 60, the Vespa is younger and more dynamic than ever, with no fewer than five different models on the market:

• Vespa PX, the evergreen �supersize Vespa� with a manual four-speed gear change, has reached the exceptional figure of 2 million units produced in over 25 years of existence. A front disc brake, sophisticated styling changes and new colours have given the PX, available in 125 and 150cc displacements, a new lease of life and kept it up to date with new trends and emissions norms.
• Vespa LX, the heir to the legendary �Vespino� or little Vespa, is available in four environment-friendly displacements: 50cc two and four stroke and a 125cc and 150cc four stroke. Lightweight, small and exceptionally agile, the Vespa LX is the ideal town runabout with all the trademark Vespa class and style.
• Vespa Granturismo 200L and 125L: marries the emotional values of the Vespa with the most advanced technology. This is the first Vespa to have a four stroke, four valve, liquid cooled engine; the first to have 12-inch wheels and disc brakes both front and rear. The steel body is the mark of an exclusive manufacturing philosophy.
• Vespa GTS 250 i.e. Fifty years after the birth of the Vespa GS, the first sport scooter, the Vespa GTS 250 i.e. revisits that legendary model of racy elegance to emerge as the fastest, most powerful and technologically advanced Vespa ever. Equipped with a modern and powerful 250cc, four valve, liquid-cooled engine with electronic injection, the Vespa GTS uses a superb double-disc braking system, available on request with an ABS. The Vespa GTS 250 i.e. is one the first two wheelers and the first 250cc to already meet the strict forthcoming Euro 3 emissions norms.
• Vespa GTV, Vespa LXV and Vespa GT 60�. Vespa is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2006 with three new models developed on the technical base of the Vespa GTS and Vespa LX, which retrieve and re-interpret vintage design features, particularly those on 1950s and 1960s models. These three new models are a tribute to this iconic product, a result of Italian industrial creativity and culture. The Vespa GT 60� in particular stands out for its superb finish and components and exclusive paint � an identical shade of grey to that of the very first Vespa � and is available in a limited-edition version (only 999 units produced).

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