Vespa unveils the all-new 946: the Rs 6.14 lakh scooter [See Pictures]

New Delhi: The legendary Italian-scooter company Vespa has pulled the covers off the Vespa 946, its first all-new scooter model in six years. The 946 is a premium automatic scooter which makes a powerful lifestyle statement.Based on the 1946 Mp6 model, the 946 has classic Italian lines. The scooter is hand-built of welded steel and aluminum alloy in Piaggio's Pontedera factory. The newly unveiled scooter comes with a striking and refreshing design. The end is lean, the seat tilted up, and the front is tilted out at the bottom. The design speaks of smoothness, low-slung acceleration. The curvature of the handlebars, the plunging curves of the saddle and the angles of the rear-view mirrors embrace classical Italian design as a result of work by Piaggio designer Miguel Galluzzi. The 946 is a handmade scooter where seat's stitching and leather palm grips are all hand finished, as is the final coat of polish.The Vespa 946 uses a Piaggio engineered 125cc, four-stroke, single-cylinder and air-cooled three valve engine. The engine delivers 12PS of power at 82500rpm and 10.33Nm of torque at 7000rpm. However, in international markets, the Vespa 946 is powered by a 11-horsepower, 150cc engine that speeds up smoothly and well, even with two people aboard.The Vespa 946 features large 12-inch wheels; disc brakes at the front and rear, LED headlights, LED indicators and a full LCD dashboard which makes the scooter look stunning. The scooter is equipped with factory fitted ABS system and ASR traction control systemThe 946 is available with a long list of accessories. 946 buyers can fit a windscreen, chrome carrying luggage rack and also choose the colour of their seat, palm grips and leather helmet bag.For instruments the 946 uses a light blue backlit digital display. At the rear the 946 uses a round taillight which is flush fitted with this scooter's body, adding to its retro-futuristic appeal. The rear of this scooter consists of a number of vents to aid this scooters air-cooled engine. The 946 has been given grey old-school pressed rims which go well with this scooter's design philosophy. The 946 is said to be capable of a top speed of 60 mph, and because of its longer wheelbase, it's very stable on the road, with none of the steering wobble that some scooters produce.However, the storage space may is a disappointment in 946. This may be significant to many since the purpose of a scooter is to scoot around urban centers on errands quickly and efficiently. But the absence of any storage space whatsoever cuts the overall efficiency of the vehicle. Still yet, Vespa offers specialized luggage racks and leather-bound bags that look great when applied, but it's not ideal to spend additional hundreds for accouterments.Piaggio are also offering handlebar muffs, leg covers for the rain and machined aluminium parts. We hope these accessories are available in India as well.