Description
This motorcycle is Lot 104 of Bonhams Motorcycles Online – The Summer Sale; open for bidding 5-15th June 2026. This Lot is available for public view and eventual collection from Bonhams Motorcycle Department, Milton Keynes.
Please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Auction Timings:
Bidding on all Lots commences Friday 5 June, 12:00 noon.
Bidding closes Monday 15 June, 12:00 noon, starting with Lot 1
Each subsequent Lot will then close one minute apart unless bidding remains active.
Public Viewing (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY):
All Lots:
Wednesday 10 June, 9am - 5pm
Thursday 11 June, 9am - 5pm
Please email using the button below with your availability to schedule an appointment.
Lot 104
The Connoisseurs Collection, Part III
c. 1947 Vespa 98
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. 16506
Engine no. 98 M 15985
This Lot has arrived in the UK from overseas under Temporary Admission. Shippio Ltd must complete all post-sale customs clearance administration, for import or export, on behalf of the purchaser. A compulsory fee of £185 + VAT will be added to the buyer's invoice for this service. This Lot may not be collected from the auction venue by the purchaser or any third-party transporter until Shippio Ltd has confirmed that this Lot has cleared customs.
If this Lot is to remain in the UK, or is not exported within 90 days of the sale, Import VAT at 5% of the hammer price will be payable.
Along with the rival Lambretta, the Piaggio-built Vespa mobilised an entire generation of Italians in the immediate post-war years, the hitherto humble scooter going on to become part of youth culture in the 1960s as favourite transport of the fashion conscious. The end of hostilities in 1945 had left a number of companies that hitherto relied on military contracts looking for alternatives, Piaggio among them. Forbidden by the Allies from resuming his aviation business, Enrico Piaggio instructed his chief designer Corradino d'Ascanio to design a scooter, for which he believed a potential market existed, particularly among women. d'Ascanio's aviation background meant that he was well versed in techniques of stressed-skin construction, and these were deployed in creating the Vespa's monocoque chassis, a revolutionary development at the time. The name 'Vespa' (wasp) is said to have been inspired by the buzzing sound made by its single-cylinder two-stroke engine.
"Just like Henry Ford put the workers on wheels in America," Enrico Piaggio told Newsweek, "we put automotive transport within the reach of people who never expected to travel that way." Since its introduction in 1946, millions have been made and countless different versions come and gone, yet the Vespa of today remains recognisably related to the first one made 80 years ago. Classic? Most definitely.
Representing the iconic Vespa in its earliest form, this beautiful example if presented in restored condition (the engine turns over). Our vendor purchased the machine from well-known journalist and collector Giovanni Perrone in March 1996 (see purchase-elated paperwork on file).
Following a period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/ or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.
£600 - 1, 000
All lots are sold ‘as is/ where is’ and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams Motorcycles website for all pertinent auction information.
