PiaggioUSA announced on January 16th that The Vespa GTS 300 Super will be sold in the U.S., though the scooter isn’t included on vespausa.com yet and no availability date was mentioned. Specs appear to be the same as the European model, with the same body as the U.S.-only GTS 250 Super. “The GTS 300 Super doesn’t just stand out in the crowd – it gets you out of the crowd,” quipped PiaggioUSA CEO Paolo Timoni. The GTS 300 Super (which features a 278cc engine, debate away!) is the largest-displacement scooter ever to bear the Vespa brand name, and a subtle but very handsome upgrade from the 250cc model.
UPDATE: Here’s the full press release. It’s due in March.
I was at the Cycle World motorcycle show in NYC this weekend. The had the 300 on display. Not much to say. Looked like a Vespa.
Scootering Magazine June, 08 (issue 264) has a first ride review and they’ve been conducting a long term test of the bike since then.
Synopsis: If you already have a GTS250 do NOT run out and buy the 300 expecting a better/faster/sportier bike. It took a dyno to prove the 278cc is faster than the 250cc. If you haven’t gotten a big Vespa yet, and you’re willing to lose the cool digital display, outside temp and luggage rack from the GTS250 it’s a good option.
Personally, I dig the look of the white one, very clean and sporty, but downgrading to the analog cluster, losing the excellent luggage rack and paying a lot more for it is bad vespanomics.
Good reasoning, Phil. Lots of people have hassled me for continuing to make a big deal that it’s really a 278cc, but 278cc is not much closer to 300 than it is to 250, and 250 is already plenty of power, so I can’t imagine the performance gain is the big selling point.
I do like the cowl louvers and retro detailing of the 300 (and 200) Sport, but it’s really not a wildly different bike than the standard 250 GTS