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Only the bile Asian envious nouveau riche dare to call Europeans arrogant snobs when they talk about their eventful and personality-rich history - because new-fashioned Asian upstarts have no history yet … And yet, not without that - marketers of European motorcycle companies will not miss a chance emphasize the continuity of generations: “Please note that the shape of the front shield of this scooter exactly repeats the shape of the breastplate of the same combat armor in which Sir Piaggio fought at a tournament in Milan in 1300”. Tie a fresh debutant to a celebrity of bygone times is a classic trick!
So this time, the Italian concern Piaggio did not become original: the debut of the 250-cc modification in the Vespa Granturismo family was connected with the 50th anniversary of the legendary Vespa GS - the first sports scooter in the company's program. Nowadays, 8 hp and 100 km / h of the prototype - the indicators are more than modest. But compare them with what was not in the sports - “standard” model of those times: 5 hp and 75 km / h. In addition, a 150-cc engine (125 cm3 in the “standard”) was installed in the GS, a 4-speed gearbox (instead of a 3-speed) and 10-inch wheels (previously 8 inches). The machine instantly became a bestseller, and later gained cult status.
To be honest, the new Vespa is not so radically different from other models of the Granturismo family. If you compare with the 200 cc model, then the new items have only 2 hp. more, that against the background of the previous 20, you see, not so much. Why did the debutant get the “family” designation - GTS250 ie? Although it’s right to ask “why.” And then, in order, firstly, to throw a bridge to the legendary GS, to make the connection index and thus from the birth to raise this Vespa in a high class. Secondly, the car has enough innovations not to consider it “ordinary” Granturismo with a new engine.
Vespa's traditional values are sacredly respected: a monocoque steel body, a pull-type front suspension with a cantilever wheel mount. But something was applied for the first time in the history of the brand (and it, the history of the brand, became even richer - to the envy of the Asians). This is a brake system with an amplifier and ABS (optional). We have not seen such sophisticated dashboards on Vespa before either: the engine speed, fuel reserve, mileage, temperature of the coolant and ambient air are displayed on the liquid crystal display, here are the signal eyes of the immobilizer, fuel injection system and ABS on the LEDs. And - the clock!