Vespa Club magazine, january 1955

[jurgen]

From 1954 until 1962 Vespas were also produced in Belgium. The following is an article published in the 'Vespa Club' magazine of January 1955:

Brussels - Every twelve minutes a new Vespa is born!

Starting from the 1st of January Vespa scooters are fully assembled in Brussels, Belgium by local company 'Motor Industry S.A. (M.I.S.A.)'. A totally new production unit is currently under construction in the center of Brussels, in the Uytenhove Street in Jette. It covers an area of about 12.000 sq/m and will consist of an administration building and big production halls housing the most up-to-date assembly and painting lines.

A special railroad will connect the factory to the national rail network, enabling the finished Vespas to be immediately loaded into special wagons and delivered directly from the factory to the distributors. The scooters will be tested on an adapted test track by certified specialists from the Piaggio company of Genova.

The Vespas assembled by the M.I.S.A. are destined to be sold in Belgium, the Belgian Congo, the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

For the year 1955 the M.I.S.A. plans the assembly of the following models:

• Vespa 125cc (Luxe)

• Vespa 150cc
• Vespa 150cc (Grand Sport)

The prestations of the world-reknown Vespa 125cc will be expanded through a few construction changes.

The Vespa 150cc (1955) is a new model which will have its first introduction to Europe on the Brussels Car Expo. It is a machine with soft yet powerful brakes. The increased diameter of the brakes is accompanied by reinforcement of the wheels. As such a machine came into being with soft yet powerful brakes, of which the efficiency will remain assured even in the roughest conditions.

The electrical equipment consist of an AC generator, a special 12amp dry cell battery, and a metal power switch allowing the warning, parking and city lights to be fed with DC.

The carefully selected colour, the brightness of polish and finishing of the whole, give the machine a very special air of distinction.

Because of its augmented efficiency the Vespa Grand Sport, the latest of Piaggio's creations, will satisfy the sporty pilot who had looked in vain for his needs towards other means of transport.

M.I.S.A. will also make the tri-porter APE 150cc available to its clients for fast and useful transportation. It is a modern transport meeting all requirements of modern life and is an undeniable help for all: merchants, industrials and farmers. Each of them will find a loyal help in this machine for quick transports, at any time of the day and at any moment.

Because of the assembly now taking place in Belgium, it became possible to lower the consumer price of all models. It thus is a delight for M.I.S.A. to have its clientele partake in this happening. From February 16th onwards, machines will be sold at the following prices:

• Vespa 125cc (Luxe) fr16.200

• Vespa 150cc fr17.500
• Vespa 150cc (Grand Sport) fr19.900

• A.P.E. Chassis fr25.500

• Open kast met. fr2.700
• Gesloten kast met. fr.5400
• Met. Kast geleider fr.2.500
• Voor open kast fr
• Voor gesloten kast fr2.300

Once more Vespa scooters, driving our streets and of which the sight became a common sight, have taken a leap forward: Always the first scooter in the world, and now the first scooter fully assembled in Belgium. The current sales of Vespas in Europe is about 1.000 scooters per day.