On the weekend of 27 and 28 June, Vespisti from around the world descended on Rome to celebrate the 80th birthday of an Italian icon.
There was never any doubt that Vespa’s 80th birthday celebrations wee always going to be spectacular, but few imagined that the celebratory parade would consist of around 25,000 machines.
Around 160 Vespa models have been produced over the eight decades since production began, and all of them appeared in the parade. This included some extremely rare examples of the Vespa 98, the first-ever series produced in 1946, as well as many vintage scooters, from the “low-light” two-wheelers of the 1950s to the classic VBBs of the 1960s. Amongst spectators, the most popular models appeared to be ET3s, GTRs and the many Rallys that had made the journey. The timeless Vespa PX was well represented in all of its forms whilst unsurprisingly there was a strong presence of modern machines such as the Primavera, GTV and GTS.
Amongst the awards available to attendees was the Vespa Trophy 2026 challenge. In this competition, those attending the event are encouraged to call into as many participating Vespa dealers as possible and we’d like to congratulate Gary Robertson of Bournemouth Seahorses Vespa Club who won the solo rider award.
Although the venue in Rome has now been cleared, you can still join in the celebrations. We’ve a selection of 80th anniversary merchandise and of course the limited edition 80th Anniversary schemed Primavera and GTS. As thoughts turn to next year’s Vespa World Days, which has been confirmed as taking place over the weekend of 13-16 May in Durres, Albania, there’s still time to join us this Saturday 4 July when we’ll have our own celebration and reveal our new showroom.
Wherever your Vespa takes you, remember that we’re here for all your parts, serving and sales requirements. We look forward to seeing you soon!
