We just learned the MP3 Hybrid is now rolling off the assembly line and will retail in Europe for under €10,000 ($US14,125). Earlier today, Piaggio presented MP3s to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and other officials and released some new photos (below).
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Photos courtesy of Piaggio Group.
Note: 2sb refuses to call this, as Piaggio does, “The First Hybrid Scooter.” As reader Tommy Lopez reminded us in an email yesterday, there are several hybrid scooters (and full-electric scooters) on the market already, though (aside from the Vectrix) they’re mostly 50cc Chinese-made bikes without the marketing hype Piaggio has showered on this machine (for years and years now). Hopefully the time, engineering, and money they put into the Hybrid MP3 is reflected in the quality and performance, but even if it can fly and automatically pets baby seals, $US14,125 is an awful lot of money for a scooter.
Besides the other ones out there, PIAGGIO made a gas/electric scooter a decade ago. It was 2 stroke, it was electric, it was an old body style Zip, it was awesome (in theory, I have no idea how it turned out). The link is posted in my soundspeed electric kit post. So, they were the first, but this ain’t it.