Vespa electrified Elettrica scooters will hit city streets (quietly) in 2018

Piaggio, the company producing Vespa scooters, has announced the Elettrica will ship next year, and that it's good for a range of 100 kilometers or 62 miles. Crucially, though, there was not mention of a selling price.

A regular-issue, gasoline-powered Vespa from the cheaper end of the portfolio has a range of 174 miles, but thanks to the wonders of an electric motor, the silent Elettrica should be far perkier than the non-electric version. Piaggio says the Elettrica delivers "continuous" power of 2 kilowatts, with peak power at 4 kilowatts. The Elettrica will charge fully in four hours, and the projected lifetime of its lithium-ion batteries is 10 years or roughly 40,000 miles. After 1,000 charge cycles the batteries' capacity will be down to 80 percent. A hybrid version called the Elettrica X will have double the range to more than 120 miles.

In addition to the electric hardware, there's software on offer. A 4.3-inch Vespa Multimedia Platform display shows information pertinent to the charge and range, and will also connect to the rider's smartphone and eventually a Bluetooth-pairable helmet that can be used for voice commands.