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. The VL was given the nickname "Struzzo", which means "bouquet of flowers" in Italian, because of the headlight now mounted on the tubular handlebars. The VL is the first Vespa to be equipped with a speedometer as standard. (Source: GSF)
Frame numbers by year of manufacture:
1955: VL2T 17001-64970 (number of units: 46,000)
1956: VL2T 64971-93101 (number of units: 28,130)
Total number of units: 74,130
Total number of VL units: 131,737