When you think of retro scooters, Vespa is the most iconic and well-respected brand that immediately comes to mind. The legendary Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio has been around for 75 years. The classic scooter was launched in 1946 in Florence, Tuscany and has achieved a cult following among motorcycle riders and enthusiasts worldwide.

Vespa, which means “Wasp” in Italian, has a reputation for its premium price tag, generally expensive maintenance, and sophisticated luxury lifestyle. While I’ve always dreamed of owning a Vespa, my current budget and riding style has steered me towards a different direction. But I still have the highest respect and admiration for Vespas every time I see them on the road.

Posing with a friend’s Vespa during the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2018

While driving around the neighborhood, I saw the Limited Edition 2021 Vespa Pic Nic on display at the Vespa Service Center / Eurocorsa along Kalayaan Avenue and couldn’t help but drool over this latest model and take a closer look.

The newly released Vespa Pic Nic is a special edition of the Vespa Primavera 150, which comes with several signature picnic-themed accessories, unique styling, and special colors. Just like its name, this scooter immediately bring images of picnics to mind.

This is the kind of scooter that you would want to take if you were going to enjoy a leisurely meal outdoors. Just looking at the Vespa Picnic, you can already imagine having picnics in the park, enjoying brunch with friends at an al fresco cafe, and driving through flower fields on a sunny day. It’s just stunning.

While I haven’t had a chance to test ride this scooter, I thought I’d share a few photos, details, and specs on the scooter just for reference.

Design

The Vespa Pic Nic is available in three stylish and appealing colors: White Innocenza, Green Relax, and Grey Materia.

The one on display at the Vespa Kalayaan shop is Green, which looks so minty fresh and retro-inspired. The scooter comes with several rustic picnic-themed details, including a brown saddle, leather straps holding down a picnic blanket, and a picnic basket at the back instead of a plastic or metal compartment. The brown details just look perfect with this pastel shade of green.

The lovely scooter immediately caught my eye and I know that this model would appeal to women. When I first posted snapshots of the scooter on social media, I immediately got reactions from female friends, many of whom aren’t even remotely interested in motorcycles, as well as a few non-rider friends asking about the bike’s price and other details.

If you’ve ever dreamed of having an old-school bicycle as a kid with a big basket in front where you can carry flowers, the Vespa Pic Nic looks like the leveled-up version of that childhood dream bike that can take you to all the places you want to go.

This particular shade of green is very unique and I haven’t seen any other scooter in the local market right now with this color and retro appeal.

Specifications

Engine: i-get single cylinder, 4 strokes, 3 valves
Fuel distribution system: Electronic Injection
Displacement: 154.8 cc
Max. Power: 8.7 kW @ 7,500 rpm
Max. Torque: 12 Nm @ 5,000 rpm
Cooling System Forced Air: Transmission Automatic CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission)
Front Suspension: Single arm with helical spring and single double-acting hydraulic shock absorber
Rear Suspension: Shock absorber with adjustable preload with 4 settings
Front Brake: 220 mm disc brake ABS
Rear Brake: 140 mm drum brake
Front Tire: Die-cast aluminum alloy 3.00×12″ – Tubeless 110/70-12″
Rear Tire: Die-cast aluminum alloy 3.00×12″ – Tubeless 120/70-12″
Length/Width: 1,863 mm / 695 mm
Wheel Base: 1,334 mm
Seat Height: 790 mm
Fuel Capacity: 7 (± 0.5) liter
Emission: Euro 3

Features

The Vespa Pic Nic has a fuel tank capacity of 8 liters and fuel consumption of 42 km/liter. Top speed is said to be 110 km/h. The scooter has a width of 735 mm, length of 1.860 mm, pitch or 1.340 mm and 780 mm seat height.

According to official specifications, the Vespa Pic Nic is powered by a 154.8cc single-cylinder engine, similar to what is found in the standard Vespa Primavera. The engine pumps out 12.7 horsepower and 12.8 Nm of torque, making it zippy and stylish to use for city rides. The Euro 3-compliant engine is shared with other Piaggio group scooters.

What sets the Pic Nic apart from the Primavera is mainly the styling. The scooter’s unique saddle, features different shades of brown that match the scooter’s classy color options as well as a small Italian flag on the strap.

The scooter’s front and rear are 12-inch aluminum alloy wheels finished in white, with a five-spoke pattern courtesy of Piaggio’s Italian design center.

The Vespa Pic Nic comes with a standard front-mounted luggage and rear luggage rack, and some picnic-themed extras that add even more charm to the already good -looking scooter.

Limited Edition Accessories

This unique scooter comes with a limited edition collection of apparel, accessories, and picnic-related items meant to match specifically with the scooter.

This includes a rustic picnic basket which can be mounted to either of the two luggage racks and a limited edition picnic blanket, which is secured with brown leather straps. There are even special Vespa themed tumblers in grey and white, a fedora hat and tote bag, to match the whole look of the scooter.

The picnic blanket, which has an embossed Vespa Pic Nic logo, and the special rattan basket (with a fixing kit which allows the basket to be located firmly on the rear rack) has leather details that just add to the vintage vibe of a classic picnic.

The picnic kit contains a white white cooling bag inside the basket where you can store food and drinks for a perfect carefree afternoon outdoors in the countryside.

Special Vespa tumblers, available in grey and white, are designed to keep your drink at the temperature you want.

A branded hat, a tote bag (which is available in white and grey) and white T-shirt with heritage graphic, are also available to level up the outfits of potential picnickers on their ride.

Price and availability

The SRP and availability of the Limited Edition Vespa Pic Nic varies per country. In Malaysia, the scooter costs 19,900 ringgit (approx. $4,608). In Indonesia, the price is 50,000,000 rupiah (approx. $3,464).

When I inquired at the Vespa shop along Kalayaan Avenue just this May 2021), I was told the Vespa Pic Nic costs Php 228,000.00 locally in the Philippines, or roughly $4,739. This price already includes the accessories like the basket and picnic blanket.

For reference, the standard Vespa Primavera 150i-get ABS starts at Php 185,000.

Video

To be honest, the Vespa Pic Nic doesn’t seem like the kind of scooter you’d want to ride through rough roads, mud and rain or take on long rides, because it’s just too pretty and eye-catching.

But for those looking for a good-looking motorcycle for city rides where they need to dress up, like for office use and leisurely urban rides during weekends, this will probably appeal to you. It just looks so fresh, clean, and summery.

You can tell who Vespa’s target market is for the scooter based on the promotional ad, which you can check out below.