This is a very very best scoity and getwhich is why Vespa made just 3600 of the special 946 models for the 2014 model year. Vespa knows you’ll roll your eyes, shake your head and maybe even spray some spittle on your iPad when you see that a 155cc scooter broaches five figures ( $10, 499, if you’re crass enough to ask the price of things) – the most expensive Vespa ever – but the company didn’t build the 946 to corner the market on 150s. Instead, it’s a rolling artwork that may forever cement Vespa’s place in history as the builder of the most stylish and desirable scooters of all time. And it’s too late to dig up the rusty corpse of Lambretta to challenge it.
Vespa pretty much pulled out all the stops when it came to the 946, putting style and the display of technology at the front of the bus. The monocoque chassis – a hallmark of the Vespa – is labor-intensive to build, with 320 welds. The curves and shapes evoke the original D’Ascancio-designed 1946 MP6 prototype ( hence the ‘946’ simplicity. There are some aluminum panels bolted on, but the scooter’s main structure is made of sheets of steel, just like the first prototypes.
