The Museum’s main attraction bringing enthusiasts from around the world is, however, the Vespa Collection, unique in its kind. It is only in Pontedera in fact that one can find the precious prototypes produced in the forties: the MP5, nicknamed “Paperino”, Piaggio’s first exercise in scooters, produced in a very few, untraceable units between 1943 and 1944; and the MP6, the famous prototype of the Vespa designed by Corradino d’Ascanio in the autumn of 1945.

Amongst the standard production models one can admire the “classics” of the vast Vespa collection (over a hundred and forty versions) highlighted by the first 98cc series launched in April 1946; the 1951 Vespa 125cc, the model used by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on the set of Roman Holiday: the 1953 Vespa “U” (as in “Utilitaria” or economy vehicle), built in only 7.000 units, currently amongst the most sought after by collectors around the world; the first “gran turismo”, the 1955 Vespa GS 150cc; the 1963 Vespa 50cc (known to all Italians as the “Vespino”), which was a milestone in the history of the most famous scooter in the world (which was followed, in 1969, by the huge success of the 50cc Special); the 1965 90cc Super Sprint, mythical ride for sporty youngsters; the 1967 125cc Primavera, a true cult amongst youngsters of the time. The Seventies are beautifully represented by the Vespa 125cc Primavera ET3 and by the Vespa 200cc Rally, which in those years introduced an innovative technical solution like the electronic ignition, and by the Vespa 1977 PX 125, “replicated” in a giant version, an out of scale model 4 meters in height in fiberglass and red varnish.