Upon seeing the MP6 for the first time, Enrico Piaggio exclaimed: "Sembra una vespa!" ("It looks like a wasp!") Piaggio effectively named his new scooter on the spot. Other features of the MP6 were similar to those on the Paperino, including the handlebar-mounted controls and the enclosed bodywork with the tall front splash guard. The MP6 design also included a single-sided front suspension, interchangeable front and rear wheels mounted on stub axles, and a spare wheel. These changes allowed the MP6 to have a step-through design instead of a tall centre section like that of the MP5 Paperino. The prototype had a unit spar frame with stress-bearing steel outer panels. The wheel was driven directly from the transmission, eliminating the drive chain and the oil and dirt associated with it. ĭ'Ascanio's MP6 prototype had its engine mounted beside the rear wheel. D'Ascanio, who had earlier been consulted by Ferdinando Innocenti about scooter design and manufacture, made it immediately known that he hated motorcycles, believing them to be bulky, dirty, and unreliable. He contracted aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, to redesign the scooter. Piaggio was displeased with the MP5, especially the tall central section.
5"), the prototype was nicknamed "Paperino" (meaning "Donald Duck" in Italian). Officially known as the MP5 ("Moto Piaggio no. In addition to the bodywork, the design included handlebar-mounted controls, forced air cooling, wheels of small diameter, and a tall central section that had to be straddled. In 1944, Piaggio engineers Renzo Spolti and Vittorio Casini designed a motorcycle with bodywork fully enclosing the drivetrain and forming a tall splash guard at the front. Piaggio MP5 "Paperino", the initial Piaggio prototype
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