1961 Piaggio Vespa 400

[JJ]

Oh my!!  Never seen one of these before!!!  Just look at that little engine!!

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/el20/the-elkhart-collection/lots/r0037-1961-piaggio-vespa-400/820720

[moto-uno]

  OMG , that thing is just tooooooo cute  .  Peter

[JJ]

There's a guy in our neighborhood that blasts around in one of these...and it's lime green in color!  Cool little Fiat!

[TN Mark]

That’s beautiful, thank you for the link.

[Lannis]

There's a guy in our neighborhood that blasts around in one of these...and it's lime green in color!  Cool little Fiat!

It's amazing - you put that original Fiat 500 next to a new Fiat 500, and it makes the new one look like a stretch limousine ... the original is TINY.    But it's the same with original vs modern Beetles, original vs modern Minis ... no one (except me) would drive a car that small any more.  How would you fit air bags and electric windows?

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Oh my!!  Never seen one of these before!!!  Just look at that little engine!!

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/el20/the-elkhart-collection/lots/r0037-1961-piaggio-vespa-400/820720

A customer had one of those Vespa cars. When he called me about his motorcycle that I was working on, he mentioned that his newly rebuilt Vespa wouldn't run and he was really upset about it. It had fuel, compression and spark, yet it wouldn't even putt. I mentioned that Guzzi cylinders were number 1 for the right and 2 for the left and a little light bulb went off in his head. He put the phone down, I heard him going down into the garage, the creak of the engine lid, an "Ah ha!", then an engine crank and start. He comes back up, picks up the phone and tells me I'm a genius.  He had the plug wires reversed.

Here's another cool tiny car with a little engine: https://barnfinds.com/barn-finds-1958-berkeley-se328/

[ozarquebus]

Is that a supercharged 2-stroke in the Vespa?

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Is that a supercharged 2-stroke in the Vespa?

No, normally aspirated. The big circular thing is the fan for the forced air-cooling.

[Jorg66]

"back than" in Germany ,there were several Italian Made 'Gogo Mobil's" around, 400 CC ,identical looking to the Vespa or even Small [very small] Kit Cars[ came in a Box" from Italy ,...250 cc in them that you could drive with a Moped License.

[moto]

Stifling my urge to make clown car references, here's an interesting story about the experience of an (maybe the) importer of these things:

https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140420/NEWS/140429798

Moto

[JJ]

Of course....then there is "The Little Subaru That Could..."   

[kballowe]

Living in Southern Spain in the mid/late 70's, I drove a Seat 600.  (a re-badged FIAT 600, manufactured in Spain)
633 CC's, 19 horsepower, 4-speed transmission, and a 1280 pound curb weight.   I could squeeze about six gallons in the fuel tank.

In 1977, gasoline was approx $2.50/gallon there and they had a lot of dinky cars.  And mopeds everywhere.  Great car for fuel mileage.  Simple maintenance.

[JJ]

Living in Southern Spain in the mid/late 70's, I drove a Seat 600.  (a re-badged FIAT 600, manufactured in Spain)
633 CC's, 19 horsepower, 4-speed transmission, and a 1280 pound curb weight.   I could squeeze about six gallons in the fuel tank.

In 1977, gasoline was approx $2.50/gallon there and they had a lot of dinky cars.  And mopeds everywhere.  Great car for fuel mileage.  Simple maintenance.

These are cute little cars!!

[Tom]

There's a Fiat Topolino in Honolulu that I'd like to buy and put on the road. 

[Jorg66]

Fiat 600 ,my Dads 2nd car ,by than for the growing Family ,3 kids in the back.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Of course....then there is "The Little Subaru That Could..."   

Who in their right mind would pay $50k for that? 

From 1968, approximately 10,000 were exported to the US, with an original price of $1,297. The 360 was imported to the United States by Malcolm Bricklin before he later manufactured his own cars. The Subaru 360 received notoriety in 1969, when Consumer Reports magazine branded the automobile "Not Acceptable" because of safety concerns and lack of power. Because the car weighed under 1000 pounds, it was exempt from normal safety standards, but it was reported that it fared badly in a test crash against a large American car with the bumper ending up in the passenger compartment of the Subaru.

Sales soon collapsed, and there were various rumors of Subaru 360s being tossed overboard or being shredded to pieces. It was also reported that many 360s sat on dealers' lots for two or three years without ever being purchased.

[Tom]

A lot of people have jumped on the "collector" wagon since auto auctions have become regular fare on tv.  I use to go to the Honolulu Police and U.S. Customs auctions in Honolulu.  Before that I'd go to Phoenix, Mesa & Tempe PD auctions.  The internet has changed all of that.  Probably the same for storage locker auctions too.

Over priced anything does not make a "collector".