VESPA GTS SUPERSPORT & ELECTTRICA
FIRST REVIEW
P112
The Vespa Electtrica represents the Piaggio Group's
first production foray into electric propulsion. They
haven't gone too outlandish with it—the Electtrica still
uses the same steel chassis, wheels and suspen-
sion as the Primavera, with just the motor/electron-
ics undergoing the major overhaul.
Instead of the petrol-powered 278cc single-
cylinder engine, the Electtrica gets a brushless
electronic motor that uses a KERS (Kinetic Energy
Recovery System) and has a claimed 3.5 kW, peak-
ing at 4 kW, an impressive 147 lb-ft of torque at the
wheel at zero rpm, and a Power and Eco mode with
a reverse gear thrown in for good measure.
The biggest question with electric motors—
aside from how quick they are off the mark—is
charge time and range. The Electtrica runs a
maintenance-free, 4.2 kWh lithium-ion battery,
that when plugged into a U.S.-spec 110 V power
outlet should take roughly eight hours to get a full
charge. The company says this is good for up to
1000 charge cycles. Vespa, unfortunately, does
not have a quick charger in their accessory range,
so if you forget to plug it in at night after about 60
miles worth of commuting, you could be in trouble.
Vespa is claiming a range of 65 miles, with the
Electtrica on a full charge, but we were unable to
verify this on our short little blast around the city
center of Milan.
The battery pack takes the same place in the
Primavera chassis as a standard petrol engine,
meaning Vespa didn't have to tool up and make
an entirely new chassis to accommodate electric
power. And it's all customizable on your phone via
the Vespa app, allowing you to view parameters like
charge rate and usage once you've stopped riding.
They're pumping 25 Electtrica's per day out of
the factory at Pontedera, Italy, about an hour's
drive from Florence, compared to up to 350
Electric propulsion is ideally suited to
tight inner-city commuting.
Vespa Electtrica