My second article into 2024 and we’re firmly back with a vehicle many of my friends would call “Alex’s type of thing”. My interest in things with an engine and wheels is as broad as it is long and I love being able to share that here. One minute I can be waxing lyrical about a bright pink US muscle car and the next… well here we are. Say “ciao” to the Siku Piaggio Ape.
The Piaggio Ape is one of those omnipresent vehicles in Europe, synonymous with Italian city streets but also found scattered across the continent. As well as their native country, I’ve found Apes in Latvia, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, Spain and Germany.
The Piaggio Ape (nothing to do with the primate, “ape” is the Italian word for “bee”) was introduced in 1948 and has remained in continuous production ever since. Conceived as a cheap, simple commercial vehicle for an Italian economy shattered by World War 2, the first Ape was simply an adapted Vespa scooter with a rear axle and load bed fitted. But it worked, and worked well. The small size coupled with the scooter steering gave it the ability to pass through the narrowest of Italian side streets and the simplicity of the Vespa engines (initially 50, 125 and 150cc scooter units) meant repairs were easy and spares plentiful. In 1964 the first variant with an enclosed cab and doors was introduced and the vehicle remained relatively unchanged until 1983 when larger petrol and diesel engines arrived and the option of a steering wheel on the larger “TM” model.
The Ape has proved to be an incredibly versatile vehicle and examples have been made in a variety of forms including box vans, pickup trucks, articulated trucks as well as the 4-wheeled “Poker” version. Small businesses have used Apes succesfully for advertising or indeed as mobile businesses themselves; one of the most popular uses of Apes is as as mobile coffee vendors. Italian production ended in 2013 with the Ape range now produced entirely by Piaggio India.
One of the most common variants is the Ape 50, introduced in 1996 and powered by a 49.8cc engine. It’s this variant that arrived in the Siku range at the end of 2023.
Scale is probably around 1:50 – 1:55 so fits in with the “3-inch” rule that most Sikus seem to stick with. It’s also more of a toy than a collector piece, but I’ve proved before that Siku can produce models that cover both ends of the market relatively succesfully.
The construction is incredibly solid, obviously designed for smashing off skirting boards and battering around imaginary streets in the hands of children. The cab and rear chassis are diecast, cast in one piece. The chassis, wheels and rear box body are heavy duty plastic with an opening rear. Decals are to the usual Siku standards: sharp and in the right places.
It’s a bit sparse in terms of anything else however I think this will be relatively popular with European collectors and indeed customisers due to the simple construction, novelty value and the endless amount of inspiration from real vehicles. Mine is certainly heading to the custom pile so watch this space!
(Find the Siku Piaggio Ape 50 on Ebay here)
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I like odd ball castings and this easy fit into my collection. Nice r review of both the real and of the model.
Thanks Steve, very kind of you!
good call!