Scoop: Vespa LX125 scooter caught testing again!

Motoroids reader and follower Chirag Shah has once again managed to take a close up, front-on image of the upcoming Vespa LX125 scooter. The retro styled scooter is slated for a launch soon, with mother company Piaggio planning to place it as a niche product. Congratulations to Chirag for creating another great scoop. Here’s the image he clicked, followed by the earlier images taken by him, and a detailed report on the scooter.

Earlier images of Vespa LX125 and report

It’s no secret that Piaggio is planning to re-launch the Vespa brand in India with its LX125 scooter. The company already has massive presence in India with its Ape range of commercial vehicles and the Aprilia brand of premium sports bikes. Now, the latest news about the Italian brand features the Vespa LX125 test mules. These images were taken by our avid reader Chirag Shah in Baramati, about 100 km from Pune, where the production facility for these scooters is being set up.

These Vespa LX 125 test mules, although camouflaged, couldn’t quite conceal their identities thanks to that trademark Vespa horn buzzer, that retro shape and the big round headlamp with chrome surrounds. The test mules sported two different types of wheels. While two of the test mules had 5-spoke alloys, one vehicle sported three spoke wheels. The three-spoke version, most likely is the base variant with no disc-brakes.

The front fenders of the scooters also sported chrome tipped Mohawks, further giving away their Vespa lineage. Other highlights included big, round, chrome plated and retro-looking RVMs and a wide seat with no spare wheel at the back or a backrest for the pillion. The brake levers were done in a classy aluminium finish.  The seats on the new Vespas were surrounded by chrome grab rails below the cushion. Thankfully there seems to be ample space between the seat and the grab rail to slide in the fingers for a good grip. The scooters on test did not have floor mats, but the final product will have the bit as standard equipment. One could also clearly see the front disc brake on the scooters with five-spoke wheels.

Vespa entered India first with Bajaj in the 60’s with the partnership ending in 1972. The company re-entered the market with LML later in the 80s, and created history with LML-Vespa scooters. Unfortunately, this partnership too couldn’t last for long and the two companies parted ways soon, leading to the demise of LML brand in India.

Now Piaggio plans to re-enter India with the Vespa LX125 scooter. The LX125 will be quite a premium product with front disc brakes and a fuel tank capacity of 8 liters which is quite high for a scooter. The Vespa LX 125 scooter is propelled by an engine that produces 10bhp of power and about 10Nm of torque. The company will produce the scooters from its plant in Baramati (Maharashtra) with a production capacity of 1.5 lakh units per year. Vespa targets sales of 1.1lakh units per year and revenues to the tune of 70 million Euros.

Vespa will have dedicated showrooms for the brand, and will re-start its life in India as a lifestyle product targeted initially only at the urban customer.

Does a retro-styled, slightly expensive Vespa make for a good choice? What should be the pricing of such a niche product in India? Do let us know your views.