Category Archives: Cars

Check out the cutest little car in the world: the limited edition Ape (pronounced ah-pay) Calessino, manufactured by the Vespa kings – Piaggio. I’m doing a good job of breaking the tenth commandment this week…

It’s a far cry from the little Ape workhorses to be found chugging along Italy’s country roads or delivering a surfeit of produce to the local market via the narrowest of alleys.

Being Italian, they know how to sell these trusty little beasts of the car world – dressing them up for chic seaside photo shoots.

True Ape-lovers can be quite creative with their decoration:

Sal Machiani, a Tuscan Ape, made his name as an actor in Cars 2:

And now you can even build your own Ape. With LEGO!

This isn’t the only picture I’ve seen of a bride and groom making their getaway in one of these trusty little three-wheelers:

Berwick Street Market’s Pizza Pilgrims cook pizza in theirs:

And they’re not the only ones with such entreprenurial uses for their small vans:

There are so many Ape fans in the world that this selection of ape images only scratches the surface.

Alas, I have nowhere to park my dream Ape Calessino, even  if Santa Claus managed to stuff one into my stocking this year and, truth be told, I don’t have stockings quite big enough for that sort of filler. Never mind. Thankfully, I’m content to daydream about my little Ape and what we might get up to together. With such a tiny engine and miniscule speed potential, breaking the sound barrier or filling up my licence with points wouldn’t be our kind of adventure, however filling up the back with a (small) friend, a (small) dog and plenty of everything for a relaxing afternoon in one of London’s parks, just might work. And, just like a cute puppy, a darling Ape like the Calessino is bound to be an ice-breaker, wherever we end up.