Record trips on a Vespa. The company entered the 1950s with machines capable of speeds in excess of 100km/h, strengthening the status of the little wasps from Pontedera.
The competition between rivals Lambretta and Innocenti didn’t make Piaggio complacent and in 1950 Vespa walked away triumphant with 17 world records at the Monthléry rally. Despite being equipped only with a 150 series engine this special model was capable of speeds of up to 136.92km/h. A year later at Ostia, the Vespa Soliro was off to a flying start; despite its relatively small engine, its newly designed torpedo bodywork enabled top speeds of around 171.102km/h from a 17.2 horsepower engine. From this point on, Vespas were widely recognised as capable and impressive racing machines. In 1951 Vespa developed the Sei Giorni special edition model.