In response to the affront by the German Vespa licensee Hoffmann to develop its own more powerful engine with 5 hp for the "Queen" without consulting Piaggio, the Italian parent company began production of a Vespa with 150 cc, the VL, in 1954. Because of the headlight now mounted on the tubular handlebars, the VL was given the nickname "Struzzo", which means (flower) bouquet in Italian. The VL is the first Vespa to be equipped with a speedometer as standard. (Source: GSF)
Frame numbers by year of manufacture:
1954: VL1T 1001-8173 (number of units: 7,173)
1955: VL1T 8174-17000 (number of units: 8,826)
Total number of VL1 units: 16,000
Total number of VL units: 131,737