Since 1946, Italian manufacturer Piaggio has primarily been known for building scooters. But not long after that, they started producing small utility vehicles like the APE (pronounced ah-pay) to help rebuild the Italian economy after World War II. One example is this 1977 APE P501 which has been set up to dispense beer and cigars, but it could be modified for other business or personal uses. Located near Wall Township, New Jersey, this 2-stroke project is available here on craigslist for $22,500. Thanks for the cool tip, Shan!
Piaggio chose the name “Vespa” for its primary line of scooters, and the word means “wasp” in Italian. Likewise, APE stands for “bee” and the machines borrow a lot from the company’s scooter engineering. Though 2-stroke motors have fallen out of favor in much of the world (emissions issues), the APE is still considered an important part of urban life in Italy, and it found an even bigger niche as a people mover in India, where these have been built for ages. The APE is a 3-wheel vehicle using a beam axle to connect the two rear wheels to the open front half of a Vespa scooter, with a flat platform attached above for load carrying.
A variety of engines have gone into the APEs, from as small as a 50cc gasoline motor to a 422cc diesel. The seller’s incarnation, the P501 from 1977, would have been rated at a carrying capacity of 1,100, at least before it was modified to haul beverages and smokes. It’s not uncommon to see them in use as ice cream trucks, electrician and plumber work trucks, fish deliverers, portable florists, roadside sales stands, and so forth. This is the first time I’ve seen one with a liquor license!
Using a 187cc air-cooled scooter motor with a 4-speed transmission with reverse, the top speed of one of these workhorses is barely 40 mph. On the other hand, a similar P200E Vespa can run 65 mph stock (these are famous for being tricked out). This one doesn’t run, but these motors are not hard to work on, and bringing it back to life shouldn’t be a huge burden. Since it’s already set up to carry beer and cigars (humidor), perhaps you could license it to serve patrons in a vibrant downtown setting. With three wheels, it would be unstable to do so out on a golf course.
Same comment for this one as for the other one….. tip over just waiting to happen, and top heavy to boot.
Two Piaggio ads on the same day. What are the odds?
Steve,
Look closely at the 2 listings and note the same stuff in the background. These are from the same seller.
What are the odds of having two of these vehicles in one day ?
@mikewolfe
Exactly what I was thinking.
Bill,
Note the same curving black cable or air hose on the floor, and the stack of tires to the rear. They are all the same as in the photos of the other APE, so it’s the same owner.
Pretty good when both are from the same seller
Who needs it to run !! I’d be content to just walk around it and taking in all the cool details. While pounding beers and cigars…
Pipe dreams!!! $22,5K for a non runner 3 wheel scooter which can barely make 40MPH? This guy is smoking something and I don’t think it’s cigars. Guess he don’t really want to sell it.$500. to $1K is about all this one is worth.
No wonder the Italian Army was routed in N. Africa & Sicily and then the first to surrender in WW2. lol
I suspect this is a non-runner on purpose. The seller says the truck is “Unoperational”, and It may have been modified so it could not be started, perhaps because it was in a commercial building that had the requisite beer/wine beverage license, and due to fire laws, it couldn’t be operational or have fuel in the tank.
I had a friend who, years ago, created a truck with beer taps, so he could go to various locations [like car events] and sell beer. He should have done his homework first, because at least in the US states in the mid-Atlantic area, offering alcoholic beverages required a different license per location, even if it’s just for a few hours. The @tapped.co suggests this may have been used in the UK, where the alcoholic beverage licensing regs are less stringent.
For a very short time I owned a 1960s APE with a New York City hotdog vending cart & big Sabra hotdog umbrella. It was unused, having been imported to test the market, but the importer couldn’t get past the NYC regulatory agencies to sell them in the city, so it went into storage for 30+ years until I found it.
The guy I got it from was the son of the importer, and he said the story was, that as a motor vehicle, it wasn’t allowed on the sidewalk, and hotdog vendors were not permitted to sell on the public streets.
Ape vehicles are still available new in Italy, here is a link to a 2021 version in Italy for just over $6k, and it’s a 1-year old lo mileage version for far less, and I doubt shipping from Italy to an east coast US port will be more than $2k, in a container. https://www.machinio.com/cat/piaggio-ape#quickview/70010503
You can also buy really cheap Chinese knock-off versions from all over China, as well! Concerning the asking price of this one, $22k is about as steep as a San Francisco city street.
cool rig