Vespa Faro Basso – Vacanze Romane

This is the first Vespa produced in Piaggio’s Spanish factory, Motovespa, in 1953. The model is almost identical to the VM33 and could be called VM34. It is the scooter associated with the film Vacanze Romane, or Roman Holiday in English, in which a sister Vespa was ridden by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

One difference from the Italian model is the number of parts forming the chassis. Vespa began producing the monocoque chassis in 1951 and 1952, whereas this Spanish model is formed from two parts, like the earlier Italian models from 1949 and 1950-the so-called Vespa cambio bacchetta.

This particular Vespa has two main external modifications and personalisations compared with the original: its colour and the lamp, which corresponds to the following model. In addition, the tyres have a white sidewall in contrast with the completely black originals.