Stylish new Vespa Officina 8 editions confirmed for New Zealand

Italian scooter icon, Vespa, has announced new special edition Officina 8 models to celebrate the history of the brand's in house skunkworks at the Pontedera factory in Italy.

Vespa New Zealand has confirmed two new special models are soon to join the local lineup, with the Sprint Officina 8 and GTV Officina 8 due to arrive later this year.

But what is Officina 8?

Following its post-war reconstruction, Officina 8 within the Piaggio plant in Pontedera was

home to the brand’s prestigious Experimental Department. This was the most cutting-edge

area of the entire company, where the most daring projects took shape.

From the end of the 1940s, this is where designers, draftsmen, mechanics, master metalworkers and test riders worked side by side - all highly-skilled professionals, many of whom had come from the aeronautical industry.

For Vespa, these were the years of rebirth, as with the whole of Europe, working to get back on its feet after the dark wartime years, was swept up in an incredible burst of rebirth and creativity. A sense of rediscovered freedom and faith in a future just waiting to be built was the inspiration behind a host of visionary projects.

Officina 8 was where new ideas, first came to life: the workshop saw the design and subsequent prototyping of the first Vespa, both for mass production and for racing and breaking records. The cut-outs for the metal workers, the special chassis models and the sand casting for the experimental engines were all created in-house. The prototype was then handed over to the road testers, who covered tens of thousands of kilometres on these bikes before deciding which to put into production, or which new competition vehicles to build. This is where the elegant lines and timeless style of the Vespa were born.

A highly coveted blue and brass pin with the words “Piaggio 8”, designed to be worn on

their work overalls, identified the technicians who worked within the most secret and envied

department within the factory.

Working in these spaces, which were inaccessible to everyone else, served as testament to

the sheer talent of the development engineers, mechanics, designers and testers involved.

The Vespa that set 17 world speed and endurance records in 1950, and the flying kilometre

record in 1951, the legendary “98 Corsa,” and the models that dominated during the arduous

“Six Days” off-road race are just a few of the custom-built masterpieces created in Officina

8.

Officina 8. A new edition of the Vespa has landed, with an exclusive charm

The exclusive Officina 8 set-up appears across the most iconic models in the range: the

Vespa Sprint 150 which embodies Vespa’s young, carefree spirit, along with the powerful

Vespa GTV, with its low headlight and exposed handlebars, which make it the most

authentically sporty Vespa of all time.

The Vespa Sprint and Vespa GTV Officina 8 immediately stand out from the crowd with

their exclusive Blu Officina 8 colour, an intense shade of industrial blue with a special matte

metallic finish which helps to turn back time, evoking the industrial environments of the past:

machinery such as vices, lathes and grinding wheels, as well as practical, durable workwear.

This colour creates an original contrast with the elegant satin-finish metal accents, which

are also highly evocative: aluminium, which embellishes the profile of the shield and the

headlight and rear light surrounds, along with brass, which decorates the steering cover

grille and wheel rims, the latter of which also feature a diamond-cut finish on the channel.

Colours and materials typical of mechanical workshops and the world of aeronautics and

beyond: indeed, the Vespa Officina 8 also brings back the much-coveted brass and blue

resin pin worn with pride by members of the historic Experimental Department. On the back

plate, the three-dimensional plate dedicated to this model reinterprets the famous pin with

a modern slant - a symbol of passion and craftsmanship.

The dual-upholstered saddle is also finished with real care: the seat with horizontal heat-

sealed stitching is surrounded by double contrasting stitching, while the polished brass

rivets represent a further tribute to tradition. The Vespa GTV Officina 8 also comes with a

rigid cover in the same colour as the bodywork as standard, mirroring the typical fairings

of Vespa competition models and lending it an even sportier look.

The set-up is completed with a host of matte black details and sporty bar-end mirrors, also

in matte black.

Welcome Kit

Every Vespa Officina 8 is accompanied by an elegant welcome kit, an evocative tin

container in the colours of this Special Edition, which contains the Owner's Book. Beginning with the original archive documents, this precious volume retraces the history of the Experimental Department, the legendary Officina 8, where visionary minds and brilliant

technicians shaped the future of the brand, creating a unique history characterised by

technological innovation and design.

New Zealand Availability

The first examples of the Vespa Sprint Officina 8 and GTV Officina 8 are expected to arrive

in the New Zealand market in October, 2025 with pricing to be announced closer to local

release.