Description
National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands
26th March, 2025 9:00AM
1953 Vespa Douglas Rod Model
Estimate
£3, 000 - £4, 000
Registration No: Unregistered
Frame No: 0539763
MOT: Exempt
Most hard to find original parts present
Rare early Vespa model dated at May 1953
Matching numbers
* Source VVC Veteran Vespa Club
The first time a Vespa was seen in Great Britain was on the stand of motorcycle manufacturer Douglas at the 1949 Motor Cycle Show. The scooter was discovered in Italy by Douglas Motorcycles managing Director Claude McCormack when the company was in the hands of the official receiver. The Vespa presented itself as a solution to the British companies problems and a deal was made with Piaggio to begin production of the Vespa under licence in Bristol in England starting with the ‘Rod model’ launched in March 1951. The ‘Rod’ model was slow to market and featured the same eternal design as the 1949 Italian ‘Bacchetta’ save for the position of the head light. Douglas were that far behind in development terms launching a year late and only producing 300 scooters per month by 1952. The result in todays international collectors market is that British built Douglas Vespas have in recent times emerged with a really special rarity and collectibility status. Only 11848 Douglas Vespa Rod models were produced from April 1951 and 1954. It is believed only around 100* survive.
Our vendor has owned this scooter for over 20 years and it has been stored in a dry garage in that time. It has clear matching numbers and is solid with no bodywork corrosion to speak of. The floor appears as the original. The engine turns and and there is no damage to the cylinder or flywheel fins. The motor does seem to be in excellent order and although no attempt was made to start the scooter the gears and clutch seem to be operational. Of note the rod selector and handlebars are original chrome and operational. The speedometer is the correct Smiths 55 MPH version with the correct 900 prefix. The carburettor is the correct Amal 19 and appears to be all correct with its original air filter box. The exhaust is the original fish-tail as is the front light. A number of spare parts come with the scooter including the inner engine cowlings and these can be seen within the above photographs. Other parts can be found at Douglas Vespa Parts Finder or in the collectors market. A very worthy and rewarding project the scooter could quite easily be returned to its original glory. The numbers are clear and registering the scooter should be a formality. Possibly then repainted in the correct metallic green one would have a very rare, desirable and valuable machine.
