Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image
;) | ;) | ;) | ;) | ;) |
| Lot number | 221 |
|---|---|
| Hammer value | N/S (est. £3,000 - £4,000) |
| Description | Vespa Faro Baso 125 |
| Registration | N/A |
| Year | 1955 |
| Colour | Silver |
| Engine size | 125 cc |
On 23rd April 1946, Piaggio filed a patent for “a motorcycle with rationally placed parts and elements with a frame combining mudguards and engine-cowling covering all working parts” thus giving birth to a new class of two-wheeled transport now known the world over as the scooter.
When the first Vespa (‘wasp’) was presented to the press at the Rome Golf Club later that year, the journalists were initially baffled by this pastel-coloured toy-like machine and it got a lukewarm reception at best. However, road tests were encouraging and sales began to take off with 2,500 sold by the end of 1947 and over 60,000 by the end of 1950. Then, in 1952, Audrey Hepburn was seen being whisked around Rome by Gregory Peck on a Vespa Faro Barosa in the film Roman Holiday and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over 100,000 were sold overnight as the public fell in love with this chic little runabout with its flat floor, comfortable saddle, low headlight and stylish leg guards that kept the road dirt off the tanned legs of the bella ragazze. In 1956 it lost some of its charm when the cute low headlight (‘Faro Baso’) was moved up from the mudguard to the handlebars but it continued to fly from the showrooms with over 2m sold by 1960 and over 10m by the late 1980s.
This 1955 Faro Baso has the 125cc 4.5bhp two-stroke single-cylinder engine with a three-speed gearbox, coil-spring hydraulic suspension and front/rear drum brakes. Identical in every way (apart from its silver paintwork) to the pale green Vespa ridden by Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, it is in outstanding condition throughout following a full restoration to original specification in its native Italy.
Although it has not yet been UK registered this should be a straightforward process with the relevant DVLA form and, as it has come from within the EU, no import duties are payable. Catalogue Amendment: NOVA document to follow. We will retain all documents we have on file and send on the remaining paperwork when the NOVA is received.
