Piaggio's Armani-fashioned Vespa 946 to launch on October 25

Piaggio will launch two scooters in India -- the Vespa 946 Emporio Armani and a 70th anniversary special edition -- on October 25, 2016. The Vespa 946 looks radical as ever and bears testament to the Italian manufacturer's design fame, particularly the stunning artwork on the wheels that it produces. The 70th anniversary edition is based on the lines of the Vespa GTS 300.

The Vespa 946 Emporio Armani was seen at the 2016 Auto Expo in Greater Noida. Piaggio developed the scooter while taking design inputs from Giorgio Armani, the famed Italian fashion house. It was developed to mark the 40th anniversary of Georgio Armani and the 130th anniversary of the Piaggio Group. The new Vespa 946 will be sold in India as a completely built unit. The 70th anniversary edition range was launched to celebrate 70 years of the Vespa brand.

The 946 Emporio Armani is powered by a four-stroke, three-valve, fuel-injected, single-cylinder 125cc engine, which churns out 11.7hp of power and 10.3Nm of torque paired to an automatic transmission. The scooter has 220mm disc brakes, a dual-channel ABS and ASR (anti-slip regulator) traction control. It is based on the trademark Vespa monocoque chassis. Both the 946 and the 70th anniversary edition come with a single-hydraulic shock upfront and a twin set-up at the rear with the 220mm discs to stop power.

The Vespa 946 leans more in the direction of an exclusive work of art rather than a mere 125cc scooter. With its floating saddle and sweeping lines at the rear, the scooter is sure to steal the show. The 946 Emporio Armani will be the second most expensive scooter to be sold in India after the Aprilia SRV 850 ABS. It will be launched in Pune, and judging by its novelty haute-couture lineage, we expect it to have an equally novel price tag that sits in the range of Rs 8-10 lakh.