Rumour Mill – a New Vespa GTS 310 for 2025?

Word on the street has reached us here at ScooterNova that a new capacity engine has been developed by Piaggio to replace their current ‘300’ (278cc) and is due to be launched soon. Does anybody fancy a Vespa GTS 310 or Piaggio MP3 310?

 

We do like a bit of research here at ScooterNova magazine and have been monitoring rumours of a new 310 engine from Piaggio for some time now. However we have put together enough rumours and evidence to suggest this is more than idle gossip.

Restrictive Regulations

For those hoping Piaggio are about to launch a sports Vespa with an incredible top-speed, I am sorry to disappoint but this is unlikely to be the case… in the immediate future at least. It is however likely that the new engines will produce a little more power. The reason behind all this will be the new forthcoming Euro 5+ regulations, which are confusingly only a minor (but complex and expensive) update to the current Euro 5 regulations that were introduced on 1 January 2020 and brought into force a year later. These were broadly the same as Euro 6 regulations for cars, all of which address the various types of pollution that a vehicle with a combustion engine produces; mainly emissions from the exhaust pipe. I say that, but the elephant in this room would be that along with exhaust emissions, heavy SUV and 4×4 vehicles create a hell of a lot of tyre dust/ particle pollution due to their weight, and heavy battery-packed cars will do the same. But I digress…

Euro 5 saw catalysers fitted to exhausts so bikes and scooters could past emissions tests and vehicle homologation be approved. What the powers that be didn’t take into account was how much catalysers could deteriorate during use.

What is Euro 5+?

These leads us to the Euro 5+ regs that come into effect on 1 January 2025. These are pretty much the same as Euro 5, except that vehicle catalysers have to prove their worth over thousands of miles of real-world testing, the minimum being 35,000km for motorcycles and scooters. There is also a new requirement for a bike’s electronic brain (ECU) to monitor the state of it via an extra lambda (oxygen) sensor probe after the catalyser. If the level of emissions is seen to increase by a large enough amount to suggest the catalyser needs replacing, then the ECU will illuminate a warning lamp on the dashboard to inform the rider. If I have read it correctly, it may even restrict vehicle top speed, forcing the owner to get the vehicle checked out sooner rather than later. Cue a whole load of aftermarket plug-in devices to circumnavigate a knackered scooter cat.

So while emission levels haven’t reduced any further from the 0.06g/km of NOx demanded by Euro 5, the development of a longer lasting cat and more complicated ECU will cost money, sap some power and could also prove problematic. For example, Yamaha will apparently no longer offer their R1 superbike as a road vehicle in Europe in 2025 due to the way its high-revving, high-performance engine accelerates the deterioration of the catalyser. It will be sold as a road bike elsewhere in the world, but as a track bike only in the UK and Europe where superbike sales are not what they used to be.  If you want to learn more about Euro 5+, Italian motorcycle magazine Motociclismo has an article online about Euro 5+ here. Enjoy…

 

 

MP3 and Vespa 310

So Piaggio are going to launch an all new version of their 300 (278cc) engine, this one being a 310cc. One assumes that the heat and gases produced by the engine, along with general wear and tear contribute to the demise of a catalyser, so to meet the latest Euro 5+ regulations Piaggio’s engineers have not only had to work on a new cat but also ways to make the engine less damaging to it.

Piaggio state that the maximum power of the current Euro 5 MP3 300 is 19 kW (25.8 horsepower) at 7750 rpm and max torque of 26.1 Nm at 6250 rpm.
For the current Euro 5 Vespa GTS 300 it is 17.5 kW at 8250 rpm (23.8 horsepower) and 26 Nm at 5250 rpm respectively.

We expect the Euro 5+ 310cc engines to produce around 1hp extra power, but with a greater increase of torque, probably at lower revs which in turn would be kinder to a catalyser and also emit less noise and pollution. One website post we found claims the new 310cc engines will produce 30hp, but we think that is unlikely. Having a torque closer to 30 would be where our money would go, if we were the gambling type of course. We appreciate that the MP3 is a heavier vehicle to propel along, but it would be nice if  Piaggio engineers could strengthen the Vespa chassis enough to cope with increased torque too. While any increase in top speed of a 310cc Vespa GTS won’t be massive, a decent amount of torque will hopefully bring a smile to those who tour a lot, especially fully loaded in mountainous regions!

 

The basic layout of the new engine will remain the same as before: a liquid-cooled, single cylinder, SOHC, 4-valve, 4-stroke motor with centrifugal clutch and CVT (continuously variable transmission). However we expect crankshaft, con rod, piston and cylinder to be new to create the larger capacity, plus new ECU and injection system to meet regulations.  Piaggio engineers are likely to have used this opportunity to improve other aspects within the motor as well, so expect a lot of differences, even if only small.

When?

Based on model updates in previous years, I would expect to see the Piaggio MP3 310 first, within a month or so, and then new Vespa GTS models possibly held back until the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show in November.

A few months ago speculation in Europe suggested that the new 310 models would have a 200 Euros price premium over the current range (the source was a foreign dealer who quickly amended their website, presumably after being told off by Piaggio!), but of course until they arrive no one will know for sure. The same goes for colours and model options, although our research revealed a couple of foreign dealers have let slip that they could be a MP3 310 and MP3 310 Sport, while the Vespa range will eventually see a Vespa GTS 310, 310 Super/Super Sport and 310 Super Tech.

Vespa Deals and Other Rumours

Until then, at the time of writing there are some deals to be had on new Vespa GTS models, both 125 and 300s from British Vespa dealers, so if you are thinking of buying a new Vespa now could be a good time to bag a bargain. The same applies to the MP3 300 too.

Elsewhere rumours have been circulating about new Piaggio Liberty and Zip scooters for 2026, the return of a sports scooter to the range and a new 500cc maxi scooter.

As for completely new Vespa models, we will have wait and see what the new year brings. There is a suggestion however that there could be a couple of surprises relating to both smaller Primaveras and larger GTS models in the pipeline…

 

**ScooterNova is an independent magazine published bi-monthly in the UK and sold worldwide. Available from all good scooter shops, selected independent retailers and in the high streets at WH Smiths too, you can also buy or subscribe online via this link here: https://scooternova.com/product-category/magazine/

Edition 45 (September/October 2024) is out now.