Čezeta Type 506 electric scooter
Price £11,000, cezeta.com
0-30mph 3.2 seconds
Top speed 75mph
Range up to 93 miles
Recharge time 26 miles for each hour up to 3 hours
It’s always struck me as odd that scooters, with their pragmatic step-through design and fogeyish upright seating position, so easily outscore motorbikes when it comes to pure panache. They pack more sass and sex appeal into their dinky two-wheel frames than almost any other vehicle – and we have both the romantic Romans and the moody Mods to thank for that.
Cheap, nimble and easy to use, the scooter became an instant hit on Rome’s crowded streets in the early 1950s. Women could ride while wearing a skirt and the machine’s concealed engine – tucked under the seat or perched over its small back wheel – kept oil, grease and dirt from spoiling their clothes. The Vespa’s starring role in Roman Holiday, that gorgeous 1953 romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, is said to have been worth 100,000 sales at the time. People watched the glamorous Hollywood couple buzzing around the ancient city and wanted to do the same. Then, a decade later, the Mods scooted in, swarming Britain’s seaside resorts on their highly customised, glittering Lambrettas. Suddenly the bikes were both stylish and culturally significant.
But those were the glory days and, since then, most scooters have become little more than irritating city mopeds. Which is why aficionados will soon be digging out their Ray-Bans and Harringtons to welcome the rebirth of one of the chicest scooters of all time: the Čezeta. Pronounced Chuh-zeh-tuh, it started life in 1957. Its aerodynamic shape was inspired by the rocket aesthetics of lunar travel. Czechoslovakia didn’t have a foot in the space race, but the country was the world’s greatest motorcycle producer and was riding a wave of postwar optimism. The Čezeta’s radical and futuristic look, created by motorcycle racer Jaroslav František Koch, embodied so much of his country’s promise.
Koch’s Type 501, usually compared to a torpedo or, less flatteringly, a pig, became an immediate hit with young Czechs. But despite its winning appeal, production stuttered to a close in 1964. Fast forward to 2008, and a Brit named Neil Eamonn Smith moved to Prague and bought his first vintage scooter. He started restoring Čezetas and began to experiment with electric conversions. With expertise from the Czech Technical University, he perfected the powertrain and a few years later launched the Type 506. Mods and romantics rejoice!
The original design of the Čezeta is unique among scooters. It is unusually long, at almost 2m. It has footboards running its entire length and a long and comfortable seat that can be lifted to reveal a luggage compartment. This makes it ideal for two people. The front mudguard is fixed to the body and fully streamlined, while the characterful headlight fits into a recess and has a luggage rack on the flat top surface.
Smith’s all-new, electric 506 has an 11kW rear hub motor which is powered by the same Panasonic 18650 lithium battery cells used by Tesla. Two versions of the scooter are available. An everyday model with a top speed of 53mph and a more powerful one which will hit 75mph. Both are easy to handle and a joy to ride. Power comes via a patented two-way “Sway” throttle. Roll it back as usual to accelerate, then roll it forward to brake (which also recuperates energy back to the battery). The swaying motion of your arm gave them the inspiration for its name. The left handlebar has a selector to choose between three ride modes as well as reverse. You don’t need a bike licence, but you’ll need to take the CBT test – and wear a helmet. As they say in Prague: “Dobrá zpráva, the communist Vespa is back!”
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
