Wikipedia:April Fools/April Fools' Day 2023/Vespa Carriola
| Vespa Carriola | |
|---|---|
 Carriola Sport (1969) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Piaggio |
| Production | 1963–1976 c. 1,000,000,000 (produced)[a] |
| Assembly | Pontedera, Tuscany, Italy |
| Designer | |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | wheelbarrow |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 48 cc Piaggio 50 (1.9 kW; 2.6 hp) 2,023 cc diesel (132 kW; 180 hp) 3,929 cc (239.8 cu in) Lamborghini L406 N/A V12 (283 kW; 380 hp) |
| Transmission | manual (two-handed) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | N/A[b] |
| Length | 1,234 mm (48.6 in) |
| Width | 567 mm (22.3 in) |
| Height | 890 mm (35.0 in) |
| Curb weight | (See note c)[c] |
The Vespa Carriola was a mono-wheeled single-user vehicle initially conceived for general utility purposes. Later versions included a structurally reinforced diesel model intended for heavy industrial applications; a turbo-fan version for military use; a limited edition sport cabriolet powered by a backpack mounted engine; as well as various prototypes and pre-production examples of fuel-cell, electric, and hybrid powered variants that were never commercialised. It was known for its simple, straightforward design, and for its adaptability.
History[edit]
The original Vespa Carriola was conceived and manufactured by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy. The concept was first proposed by Italian automotive pioneer Egrègio Bugiardo Buonarruota, who developed the initial prototypes in the late 1950s. The design was further refined by aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio in the early 1960s, at the height of the Italian Economic Miracle.[1] Initially marketed as a lightweight all-purpose utility wheelbarrow, it was first unveiled at the Turin Auto Show in 1963.
The layout of the vehicle evokes the classic design of a traditional wheelbarrow which has been enhanced and augmented with many novel and innovative features. The standard model was powered by a modified Piaggio 48 cc, 1.9 kW (2.6 hp), two-stroke petrol engine with a single-barrel Dell'Orto carburettor, and had carrying capacities of up to 110 L (4 cu ft) wet, or 160 L (6 cu ft) dry. A heavy-duty model was also developed for industrial use. This variant benefited from an improved electro-hydraulically dampened tri-partite dual-wishbone suspension, mono-fractal polymorphic reinforced molybdenum steel space-frame undercarriage, and a 2,023 cc (123.5 cu in) DOHC flat-five diesel engine which produced 132 kW (180 hp).[2][3]
Developments and derivatives[edit]
In an attempt to capture a portion of the military vehicle business from FIAT Veicoli Industriali (a precursor to IVECO), the company's Piaggio Aero Industries division (a precursor to Piaggio Aerospace) began development of an advanced micro-composite turbo-fan powered tactical-strike version in the mid-1960s. While the Italian military placed large orders for this variant, none were actually put into service nor did the Mil-Carriola ever see active duty due to severe technical complications encountered as the mono-wheeled wingless cabriolet surpassed the sound barrier.[4]
By the late 1960s Piaggio was flush with cash from ongoing military contracts and the commercial success and popularity of the utility version of the Carriola. This led the company to explore other variants, including the Carriola Sport and Carriola GT. These were powered by a modified, backpack-mounted mono-block powerplant based on the Lamborghini 3.9-liter, 254 kW (345 hp) V12 engine used in the 1968 P400S Lamborghini Miura (Miura S), and were manufactured to order as non-sequentially numbered semi-limited editions. Information on total production of the Sport and GT models is murky and unreliable, however the automotive historian Edsel McGee has written that "the actual numbers are surprising, somewhat suspect, and mostly unbelievable."[5] An all aluminium-bodied version know as the Carriola Sport GTS Superleggera (with coachwork by the legendary Italian coach builder Carrozzeria Superleggera) was also produced in limited quantities. A grainy photograph of one-off custom Zagato-bodied version dubbed Z-Carriola (Italian: Z-Carriola) was published in Quattroruote magazine in April 1971, but the whereabouts and existence of this vehicle remain a mystery. As is typical for the designer, the Zagato design featured a double bubble bottom to allow a lower overall profile.[Note 1]
A fuel-cell powered version was later studied in exhaustingly preliminary detail, however the added complexity and inefficiency of the 1970s era fuel-cell technology (and a minor industrial incident) discouraged development beyond the prototype stage.[6][Note 2] Various hybrid petrol-electric, petrol-human, as well as human biomass and nuclear powered versions were also developed to varying degrees of completion, but these were later abandoned for technical, judicious, or commercial reasons.[5] Several of these prototypes are known to survive, including a particularly fine and well preserved example held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.[7]
An self-driving, all electric version of the Vespa Carriola is rumoured to be in development through a joint venture between Piaggio, Apple, and Disney's Clowncar, Inc. subsidiary. A source at the company who was not authorised to speak publicly is quoted in the New York Times as saying that the vehicle, codenamed vPääD,[Note 3] will be fully autonomous and equipped with code developed for Apple's advanced sentient AI codex, codenamed Mona Lisa Overdrive. The same source also confirmed industry murmurations that the proprietary Apple code, control electronics, and depleted plutonium nitrate-ion batteries would be ethically sourced, sustainable, and socially-responsible.[8][9][10][Note 4]
In popular culture[edit]
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In cinema, a young, scantily clad Sophia Loren famously made her debut performance riding through a field of barley while sitting in the aptly named double-bubble bed of a specially constructed alpine spruce Carriola in the classic Italian neorealist film The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Italian: L'Albero degli zoccoli). This early cameo appearance quickly led to the actress being signed to a multi-film contract with Paramount Pictures.[Note 5] The Sport Carriola also features in four James Bond movies: You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker, as well as the films Emmanuelle and Carry on Camping.
Other pop-culture icons of 1960s and 1970s who were devotees of the Carriola include the Wheelbarrow Olympic gold medallist and gameshow host Steve McQueen, English avant-garde experimental string quartet The Dave Clark Five, and Nobel laureate and harmonica virtuoso Robert Zimmerman. Boy Bands such as the Beach Boys, Boyz-n-the-Hood, Beatles, Monkees, Backstreet Boys, and the Vienna Boys' Choir were also variously photographed in front of, behind, in proximity to, or in a Carriola.[11][10][Note 6] The English super-model Twiggy had a Carriola GTS in her collection of Italian sportscars (which also included a rare Lamborghini Se/X and several delicious late 1960s strawberry Ferraris with crème chantilly), however she rarely used the augmented wheelbarrow due to the incompatibility between its heavy, backpack-mounted V-12 engine and her stick-like frame.[12]
Two decades later, in the early 1980s, the French animal-rights activist and political wanna-be Bridgette Bardot was pictured driving dogs to distraction in Saint-Tropez while simultaneously at the wheel of both a Carriola and the similarly iconic Mini Moke.[13] This led to a resurgence of interest in the legendary mono-axle icon and several abortive French attempts to revive the classic design, all of which ended very badly (French: très mal).
In 2023, a restored barn find 1969 Carriola GTS (originally owned by the renowned Italian artist and composter Piero Manzoni) was sold by Silverstone Auctions in Warwickshire, UK for slightly less than two billion Pounds Sterling.[14][Note 7]
Legacy[edit]
Although the Piaggio Vespa Carriola of the 1960s was ground-breaking in its day, power assisted wheelbarrows are now cheap and widely available from a number of different manufacturers, and are used in a range of applications. The technology has improved exponentially and modern power assisted wheelbarrows are now relatively fool-proof, making them suitable for both utility and recreational use, while further enabling the near frictionless transmission of implausibly abundant payloads of Mediterranean risus communis, unbridled Scandiglee (Swedish: skandinaviskglädje), and mid-Atlantic mirth.[15][16][17]
Also see[edit]
Notes[edit]
Explanatory
- ^ Fewer than one of these rare models is known to exist, and it would if it did go on to set records for credulity and mark the highest price paid for a wheelbarrow of any sort at an auction by RM Sotheby's in April 2023.[citation needed]
- ^ In 1976, an explosion caused by a worker (thought to be a technician named Massimo Bastardo) absentmindedly tossing a lit cigarette on the ground near a leaky pipe connecting the hydrogen fuel storage facility to the research and development lab at a chemical factory owned by a Vespa fuel-cell supplier near Milan. The ensuing conflagration resulted in the vaporisation of the entire facility and all of its workers. Hectares of land, a historic Romanesque church, a day-care centre, and a small village housing worker's families were also razed. The incident resulted in wide-spread anger as well as a temporary ban on the sale of tobacco products to people named Bastardo. Many still believe (without any corroborating evidence) that the event was staged, actually being a false-flag cover-up for something or rather involving space aliens. A fetchingly lovely memorial park was later built on the site to commemorate those who suffered as a result of the tragedy (all but Max Bastardo, that is). Some die-hard conspiracists maintain that the evidence of a cover-up is buried under the park.
- ^ [ed.] According to the Svenska Akademiens ordlista, Vpäad* is a common Swedish acronym for "Vespa, Piaggo, Apple, and Disney".
*The use of superfluous capitalisation and a double umlaut in this case remains unclear as it is grammatically incorrect, however, it seems highly probable that this über-clever graphic device was adopted to win favour in the über-competitive Scandinavian market (the quoted inside source was unable to confirm or deny intent, however, they intimated that it may also be a secret code, sparking a great über-murmuration of cryptologists). - ^ AKA: Industry code for greenwashing.
- ^ The scene was judged to be too risqué for Anglo-Saxon audiences and cut by both the British Board of Film Classification and its American equivalent, the Hays Commission. A restored director's cut was finally released in Great Britain in April 2013. The Americans are still waiting in the dark (poor doe-eyed dears).
- ^ The cover photograph of The Vienna Boys' Choir's 1974 Christmas Special album Winter Wonderland featuring Frank Sinatra (German: Das winterwunderland mit Frank Sinatra) pictures all of the approximately 100 choristers cheekily packed into a modified bright red stretch Carriola driven by Sinatra in a Santa suit.
- ^ Including hammer price, commission, and taxes.
Technical
- ^ [NB: Includes all variants except Mil-Carriola (for which sales figures remain classified by the Italian Ministry of Defence as of April 1, 2023).]
- ^ [NB:The calculation of wheelbase for mono-axle vehicles such as wheelbarrows, unicycles, and yoyos is based on the application of Stein's Law (which states that "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."), divided by the multiplexed root of the Golden ratio squared. This naturally results in a sum equal to or no greater than zero.]
- ^ [NB: Curb weight varies wildly between the variants: The dry weight of the Standard model was comparable to that of a common wheelbarrow plus the additional mass of the 50cc engine (which would be discounted if borne by the optional shoulder-sling mounting engine harness); whereas, one might reasonably ask: "Say, just how heavy were the heavy duty (diesel), Sport, Gran Tourismo, and Mil-Carriola models anyhow?" Dear reader, my friend, they were very heavy indeed.]
References[edit]
- ^ Group, Piaggio. "The history of Vespa: from its origins in 1946 to the myth". vespa. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Lana, Alessio (2020-04-22). "A history of the Vespa, the scooter that started it all". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Vespa History". Vespa Club of Britain. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Aircraft without wings!". Aircraft Nerds. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ a b Lillie, Barry (2014-08-04). "History of an Icon: La Vespa". ITALY Magazine. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Seveso chemical disaster". Environment & Society Portal. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Vespa Carriola Sport GT". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Czap, Nick (April 1, 2021). "It Looks Like a Vespa, Rides Like a Vespa, but Doesn't Smell Like a Vespa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "A different take of the electric Vespa". www.domusweb.it. 2020-06-04. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ a b Sarti, Giorgio (2022). Vespa : 75 years : the complete history. Vimodrone, Italy. ISBN 88-7911-855-2. OCLC 1291874185.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Medina, Portia (2012-04-04). "The Beatles to The Wanted: The Evolution of Boy Bands". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Glancey, Jonathan (2013-11-22). "The Vespa: How a motor scooter became stylish". www.bbc.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "French actress, Brigitte Bardot with her dogs, driving a Mini Moke in France, 1980 (08/2019)". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Silverstone Auctions". www.silverstoneauctions.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Electric Wheelbarrow". nu-starmhl.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ de Graaf, Peter (2012-11-14). "Man invents motorised wheelbarrow". NZ Herald. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Most Bizarre Record Ever? Man Sets Guinness World Record With Fastest Garbage Bin Motor Car". IndiaTimes. 2020-10-01. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
External links[edit]
Category:Piaggio Vespa Category:Hand barrows Category:Transport in Italy