Vespa 400
| Piaggio | |
|---|---|
 Vespa 400 built in 1958
|
|
| Vespa 400 | |
| Production period: | 1957-1961 |
| Class : | Microcar |
| Body versions : | Convertible sedan |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 0.394 liters, 14 PS (10 kW) |
| Length: | 2850 mm |
| Width: | 1270 mm |
| Height: | 1250 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 1690 mm |
| Empty weight : | 360 kg |
The Vespa 400 is a small car from the Italian vehicle manufacturer Piaggio .
Model history
During the Second World War , Piaggio had produced armaments, but also airplanes. When the demand for aircraft collapsed at the end of the war, the company founded in 1884, like many European competitors, saw the production of civilian vehicles as a promising field of activity. From 1946 Piaggio first manufactured the Vespa scooter , and later the Ape three-wheeled van . After vehicles like the Isetta or the German Goggomobil had proven successful in the mid-1950s , Piaggio also turned to four-wheeled microcars.
The development of Piaggio's first four-wheeled passenger car began in 1955. In 1956 the first prototypes were tested; In September 1957, Piaggio finally presented the car, called the Vespa 400 with a view to its displacement, to the public at the Paris Motor Show . At the same time, the start of production of the Fiat Nuova 500 , which competed in the same class as Piaggio's car, was emerging. With regard to the new 500, Piaggio figured that its 400 would only be an outsider in the Italian market. Instead, the company focused from the start on France and Belgium as its main sales markets. That is why it decided early on to produce the 400 exclusively in the French Vespa factory Ateliers de Construction des Motocycles et Automobiles in Fourchambault in Burgundy .
Between 1957 and 1961, Piaggio manufactured 30,076 Vespa 400s. Most of the vehicles were sold in France, with some cars also being sold in Italy and Germany. 1700 cars were also exported to the USA .
Design features
The Vespa 400 was marketed as a convertible at the factory , but it was basically a convertible sedan . The door frames and the side roof parts are fixed; however, the fabric roof - similar to the Citroën 2CV - can be rolled back. The body is in the pontoon style and, unlike some other contemporary microcars, has a conventional threefold structure in the engine compartment, trunk and passenger compartment. The car was a four-seater, but the rear seats were only suitable for small children and were unpadded. The doors, which were quite wide compared to other vehicles in this class, were hinged at the rear . The spare wheel (4.40-10) was housed under the passenger seat. A special feature was the placement of the 12-volt starter battery in a kind of drawer in the bow.
The Vespa 400 was powered by an air-cooled 394 cm³ two-cylinder two- stroke engine with 14 hp at 4350 rpm. It was installed above the rear axle. Initially, Piaggio used a manually shiftable three-speed gearbox with an unsynchronized first gear. In 1961 there was an export version with an engine output increased to 20 hp and a four-speed gearbox. The starter was operated with a lever. Under a separate container for two-stroke oil , there was a metering device in order to produce the two-stroke mixture in the 23-liter gasoline tank by turning this device to pump the appropriate amount of two-stroke oil into the tank after refueling.
The car was very short with an external length of 2850 mm. The empty weight was less than 400 kg.
There were two versions to choose from, on the one hand the simple "Tourisme" version and the more popular "Luxe" version with an instrument cluster, two windshield wipers and more ornaments. In 1959 the Vespa 400 was redesigned, it got sliding windows, better seats and a more pleasant interior. At the same time, the two-stroke oil metering device was omitted.
In terms of price, Piaggio's Vespa 400 was 3090 DM in autumn 1959 below the Fiat 500; it was also cheaper than the Goggomobil.
When sales had plummeted in 1961, production was stopped. Piaggio then concentrated on the production of scooters and vans.
Picture gallery
A 400 with the roof open
dashboard
Front view
Rear view
Look at the engine
Market value today
The Piaggio Vespa 400 plays an outsider role on the German classic car market. There are currently no reliable price quotes. The common oldtimer publications do not show any entries for this car. In the American market, the small cars sometimes reach very high prices: a copy in need of restoration was sold in 2009 for $ 21,000; a concours condition vehicle can cost up to $ 40,000.
literature
- Ivan Ostroff: The Eco Warrior. Presentation of the Vespa 400 in Classic Cars , issue 7/2011, p. 104 ff.
- David Lillywhite, Halwart Schrader: Encyclopedia of Classic Automobiles. Munich (Motorbuch Verlag) 2005, ISBN 3-613-02552-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The aircraft manufacturers who built cars after the war included, for example, the Dornier-Werke , where the Dornier Delta was built, as well as Messerschmitt AG , Saab and the Bristol Aircraft Company
- ↑ Lillywhite / Schrader: Classic Automobiles. P. 493.
- ↑ Dennis Gage: Microcar Show , MyClassicCarTV, YouTube from August 9, 2013
- ↑ Robert Poensgen in Der Kleinwagen , issue 10 of the 1959 year (test report).
- ↑ E.g. Günther Zink: Oldtimer Catalog XXIV (2010).
- ↑ Classic Cars, issue 7/2011, p. 107.