The launch of the Ducati Brio, which is Italian for ‘lively’, in
1963 marked Ducati’s second foray into the scooter market having
produced the unsuccessful Cruiser scooter in 1952. The Cruiser
featured a 175cc, four-stroke engine and an automatic gearbox but
was significantly overpriced and only 1,000 were produced.
Production ended in 1954. However, with designer, Gio Ponti, put in
charge of developing a new, less expensive design in 1962, the Brio
met with considerable success although it has been suggested that
Ponti’s design was derived by simply reverse engineering a
Lambretta. The headset and front mudguard are virtually identical to
those found on a Lambretta and it has similar overall styling.
The Brio was produced with a choice of two engine capacities,
50cc or 100cc, and the fan-cooled, two-stroke engine featured a cast
aluminium shroud to direct cooling air around the cylinder barrel
and head. It is coupled to a three-speed gearbox with gear shifting
achieved via a twist grip on the handlebar.