Description
I am selling this Vespa400 from 1959.
A mini convertible car built by Piaggio in the French ACMA factories only. (Never manufactured or sold in Italy due to FIAT's lobby at its release, as a direct competitor of the FIAT 500)
A very rare vehicle, among the smallest cars in Europe.
360kg, 1. 25m tall, 2. 85m long, and 1. 27m wide.
Petrol vehicle, rear-wheel drive, 393cc engine, 2-stroke inline twin, manual, with a top speed of 100km/ h (on descent with the wind behind you…)
It attracts attention and sympathy, but above all it has the major advantage of being exempt from the mandatory MOT inspection (registered as a historic vehicle and pre-1960). It therefore won’t require a Crit’Air sticker in city centres and ZFEs.
It is in good cosmetic and mechanical condition, starts and drives.
Shown at car gatherings and heritage days.
I was in contact with the 2nd owner (1985-2020) who told me that the odometer had been changed; the 14, 000km shown on the odometer is not certified, but it is also known that the engine was replaced in 2015 with a nickel engine with a Dell'Orto carburettor that significantly increases the vehicle’s performance (notably because a demultiplying unit was designed especially for this car by an enthusiast and installed recently to fully exploit the carburettor’s capacity). The braking system was replaced with new in 2018. The new hood was fitted around 2015–2018.
I bought it for €16, 000 in 2023 from a professional. Failing to find a buyer at that price, it is today offered at a derisory price, sold as seen.
Visible in Marseille only. Video and other photos on request.
A micro car roadster not to be confused with the Autobianchi Bianchina Cabriolet Eden Roc, another convertible rival but more luxurious; the Vespa400 was aimed at a more modest audience at the time.
