A NEW ICON, A TRIBUTE TO THE JOIE DE VIVRE

DIOR AND VESPA HAVE COLLABORATED IN CREATING AN EXCLUSIVE SCOOTER TO CELEBRATE THE BRIGHT SPIRIT AND THE ART OF LIVING THE TWO BRANDS SHARE

Both founded in the same year (1946), the Italian brand and the Parisian fashion house share the desire to inspire an innovative, bright, and creative vision of the world. Today more than ever, the collaboration between Dior and Vespa re-invents the spirit of freedom, movement, and expression on which both brands are based.

From this passionate team effort, the Vespa 946 Christian Dior was born: the most exclusive Vespa model, presented in 2012 and devoted to aesthetic and technological perfection, was re-interpreted by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Dior's women's collections.

This led to the birth of a true collector's item, made in Italy with the painstaking attention, dedication, and precision of a fashion salon, in a special edition limited to just 946 units.

On Vespa 946 Christian Dior, the body – strictly in steel, enhanced by aluminium parts including the mudguard and side covers – "wears" an elegant cream white with dedicated Christian Dior graphics and even the tiniest details reflect the commitment to excellence and the savoir-fare shared by the two brands. Testament to this is the numerous gold-coloured satin-finished parts: the rear luggage rack, the circular aesthetic elements under the seat, the bag hook, the aluminium mirror brackets, the hand grip ends, the profile that runs along the perimeter of the shield, the "neck-tie" decorations, and the edges and hubs of the aluminium alloy wheel rims.

Vespa 946 Christian Dior distils and condenses within itself the best of Italian craftsmanship and technology, as well as the best of French fashion: the bold and extremely elegant solution of the suspended seat, which leaves the back of the Vespa 946 completely naked, is enhanced by the saddle support covered with the iconic Dior Oblique pattern, designed by Marc Bohan in 1967. The seating area of the saddle, on the other hand, is covered in dark blue leather, as are the hand grips, hand stitched and covered.

Each highly valuable Vespa 946 Christian Dior unit is accompanied by a welcome kit that includes a volume which illustrates the genesis of the partnership and the vehicle features, the use and maintenance manual, and the warranty booklet.

The kit also contains a chromium-plated aluminium cover that's sure to enhance the area where the seat attaches to the body – something that has always been one of Vespa 946's characteristic traits – and that will be installed on the Vespa when the customer takes delivery.

Available in Australia in extremely limited numbers, the future-collectable Vespa 946 Christian Dior has a rideaway price of $36,000.

Tradition and innovation: Monocoque body made of sheet steel with aluminium elements: handlebar, saddle support, side panels, front mudguard, rear view mirror supports.

Maximum safety: 220mm dual disc brake, ABS dual channel braking system, ASR traction electronic control system. Large 12-inch wheels, dismountable aluminium alloy wheel rims.

Ecology and economy: 150cc 3V engine, electronic injection, top-in-class fuel consumption and emissions reduction.

Technology and style: LED headlamp with heat dissipating system, LED tail-light and turn indicators, full LCD multi-purpose dashboard.