L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 8 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE GENEROSO D'AGNESE W hen Ape was born, Vespa was only two years old and had already found a place in the heart of Ital- ians, who had been getting back on their feet after the tragedy of war. Piaggio asked engineer Corradino D'Ascanio yet anoth- er creative effort and he didn't disappoint: using Vespa as an inspiration, he conceived the first model of a three-wheel van Piaggio wanted to launch for freight transport. And, of course, its name had to recall that of Vespa: as it was a work vehicle, thoughts were bound to go to the laborious bee, "ape." It was 1948 and the first Ape was nothing more than a V es p a w ith a trailer. Ape was very different from the large, military inspired trucks or the slow and heavy three- wheeled vans one would see on the road in those years, and cer- tainly much more comfortable than thos e tricycles us ed to deliver goods from one corner of a city to the other. " Ape," the magazine Motociclismo wrote, "is an extremely modern vehicle, cheap and that consumes very little, accessible even to the least resourceful of businesses. Yet, it has been conceived carefully, both from a functional and con- structional point of view." In 1948, V es pa's engine, originally a 98cc, was upgraded to 125cc. This very same engine was selected for Ape, which pre- sented several external differ- ences, too. Corradino D'As- canio, the mind b ehind the creation of Vespa, stated that " we wanted to fill a gap in the post war motor vehicles' market, w here there w as s pace for a small engined van, that con- sumed and costed very little, was easy to care for and manoeuvre in busy city streets and, first and foremost, was able to transport goods from shops to homes." After having "invented" the firs t helicopter and the firs t s cooter, D 'A s canio had yet another brilliant intuition. Ape quickly entered the Italian motor vehicles' panorama and con- tributed to increase both com- mercial and production activi- ties. After some initial upgrades, Piaggio created the Ape Ver- sione C, the first with a closed cabin and doors, proposing to the market a tiny van able to carry up to 350 kg of goods and materials. It was 1956, and the Italian economic boom had just begun. In thos e very years , another version of Ape, Ape Calesse, was born: it became famous thanks to the many Hol- lywood stars photographed sit- ting in it while holidaying in the Mediterranean. Versilia, Portofi- no, Capri and Ischia: the outline of Ape Calesse became synonym with cinema and glitzy life, the ultimate proof of its commercial success. P iaggio created a s logan, "Ape, the vehicle that helps you make money," to market its new models, specifically created with the w orld of commerce and craftsmanship in mind: the very heart of Italian economy. Indeed, the growth of such small busi- nesses went hand in hand with that of Ape. Ape MP debuted in 1966: its cabin offered more comforts and was comparable to that of much larger vans. Its 190cc engine was placed at the back of the vehicle on a "sleigh shaped" structure, the original chain drive was substituted and new suspensions installed, along w ith rubber s prings and hydraulic dampers. In 1968, the A pe MPV debuted a s tirring wheel, offered as an alternative option to the scooter-style han- dlebars it originally w as designed with. A year later, Piaggio came out with Apino, a commercial vehi- cle with a 50cc engine. It was the first scooter transformed into a van not to need a number plate (compulsory, on the other hand, for vehicles w ith larger engines). 1971 marked another step for- ward, quality wise, for APE. A new model, Ape Car, came into direct competition with light trucks: it had a larger cabin, stir- ring wheel and a 220cc, two strokes engine. After that, it took Piaggio 11 years to produce a new Ape model: Ape TM was the brainchild of Giorgetto Giu- giaro, who entirely revamped the vehicle: new cabin, new stirring wheel and a car-like dashboard, independent suspensions, light drum brakes and 12 inches wheels, all elements emphasizing the comfort and habitability of a vehicle that was to enjoy world- wide success and that, still today, is produced for many a customer, conquered by its reliability and sturdiness. In 1984, Piaggio enjoyed yet another record: the first Ape with a diesel engine. It was a 422cc direct injection diesel engine, the smallest in the world. Two years later, in 1986, A pe w as to improve on its weight carrying abilities, reaching a limit of 900 kg. In 1990, the four wheel Ape was born. This vehicle was des- tined to create a true ridge between the previous production and what was to come after, yet without forgetting its original design and allure. In 1994, the Pontedera factory created Ape Cross, a vehicle targeted to the many teenagers who wished to used Apino as an alternative to scooters. Equipped with a roll- bar and with a handy, large trunk located just behind the cabin, the Ape Cross came with alarm, car stereo and speakers. In 2007, the mythical Ape Calesse came back into the spot- light with the Ape Calessino, produced in a limited edition of 999 exemplars, while in 2010 Piaggio proposed the Electric Lithium version, an eco-friendly Ape, silent and versatile, which brings together in one vehicle practicality, elegance and man- ageability. Ten years later, Ape gets a makeover with the cre- ation of new Euro 4 versions of Ape Classic and Ape Calessino, with the aim of feeding what has now become a worldwide myth. Since 1999, Ape is also pro- duced in the Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited factory, in the Indian city of Baramati, in the Maharashtra State. Every year, 200.000 Ape are produced to meet the demands of people truly from everywhere: cities, country- side, seaside towns, mountain villages, Europe, Asia, America and Africa. Whether you call it biròcc (in Piedmont), la lapa (in Sicily) or o trerròte (in Campa- nia), Ape keeps on being a faith- ful working companion to mil- lions of small entrepreneurs, who fondly carry it w ithin their heart. Ape started as a sturdy yet light work van, but with time it became a bit of an Italian symbol Iconic, just like its older sister, la Vespa Ape: working hard since 1948 Seventy years ago, Abruzzo-born engineer Corradino D'Ascanio created Ape, a small-engined but agile three-wheel van

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