Vespa is making an electric version of its iconic scooter
The Vespa Elettrica should preserve both Italian chic and the planet.
Electric scooters aren't hard to find, but you haven't had any luck if you wanted the most recognizable scooter of them all, a Vespa -- the Italian machine has run on fossil fuels since its inception. At last, though, the brand is catching up with the times. It recently unveiled a Vespa Elettrica project that, to no one's surprise, runs on an electric motor. You'd still have the style and maneuverability of a classic Vespa, the company claims, but you'd get a cheaper-to-run, eco-friendly powerplant. There will also be "innovative connectivity solutions." It's not certain what those are, but it's easy to envision checking on your scooter with your smartphone.
The Elettrica should be ready sometime in the second half of 2017. Vespa hasn't divulged pricing. As Gizmodo comments, though, there's a good chance that this could sit on the higher end of Vespa's price spectrum at several thousand dollars or more. Electric vehicles are costlier as a rule, and Vespa might have little trouble charging premium prices for the combination of cutting-edge tech with its famous badge.
