Italian OEM rolls out ‘crossover’ that combines the dynamic character of a high-wheel scooter with the performance of a big GT. And there’s loads of tech too.
27 Dec 2020 | 15068 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
In a global première, 20 years after the first generation born, the new Piaggio Beverly has rolled out. One of Italy’s most popular scooters, the Beverly has now been completely revamped and evolved to become a true crossover, combining the versatility, the dynamic features and the road-holding of a high-wheeled vehicle with the exuberant performance and comfort of a luxurious GT.
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
In a global première, 20 years after the first generation born, the new Piaggio Beverly has rolled out. One of Italy’s most popular scooters, the Beverly has now been completely revamped and evolved to become a true crossover, combining the versatility, the dynamic features and the road-holding of a high-wheeled vehicle with the exuberant performance and comfort of a luxurious GT.
The new design is decidedly sporty, with the front end having been totally redesigned, whereas the from a side view, the lines abandon the softness of the previous models to become more taut and muscular, leading to a rear end that is sleeker and tends more upward.
The LED headlight stands out at the centre of the new handlebar. The turn indicators and position lights are also LED technology, placed on the sides of the front shield to profile the edges, thereby creating a bright ‘signature’ that makes the new Beverly recognisable at a glance, even during the day. In the rear area, the tail ends in an original extractor profile that emerges at the centre of the LED rear light cluster. The brand new, motorcycle-style license plate holder, positioned on the wheel, contributes to making the new Beverly extremely slender and clean. The wheel rims are also new, with a sporty seven split spoke design, and the seat is magnificently refined with double covering and double stitching.
New engines
Making their début on the new Piaggio Beverly are two new and powerful Euro 5 powerplants – 300cc and 400cc – from the hpe family (High Performance Engine). Both the engines – 4-stroke 4-valve single cylinder, with liquid cooling and electronic injection – have been developed by the Piaggio Group R&D centre, which has helped achieve better performance and improved rideability, reducing fuel consumption and noise.
The 300 hpe engine increases in power by 23% compared to the previous version of the same size, reaching 19 kW (25.8 HP) at 8000rpm, whereas maximum torque increases by 15%, now reaching 26 Nm at 6250rpm.
The 400 hpe powerplant replaces the previous 350 engine. The difference lies not only in a simple increase of cubic centimetres, but starting from an already extremely efficient engine, with Piaggio engineers further improving mechanical and thermodynamic performance, and further reducing already extremely low vibration and noise levels. The result is a power rating that reaches 26 kW (35.4 HP) at 7500rpm and a maximum torque of 37.7 Nm at 5500 rpm, data which translates on the road into performance and riding elasticity.
These two engines are combined with an extremely effective and advanced chassis architecture. The double cradle frame in high-resistance steel tubes and pressed sheet metal is combined at the front with a new Showa fork with 35mm diameter stanchions, whereas at the rear, it works with a new pair of Showa dual action shock absorbers featuring a coil spring with preload adjustable to 5 positions.
Motorcycle-like riding
Thanks to this motorcycle-style bearing structure and the large wheels with rims in lightweight alloy (16” on the front and 14” on the rear), the new Beverly ensures motorbike-like riding comfort and road-holding, maintaining great agility and handling. The 400 hpe version also adopts wider tyres (120/70 instead of 110/70 on the front and 150/70 instead of 140/70 on the rear), which ensure better stability at sustained speeds.
Piaggio Beverly, which has a keyless system, is high on technology. At the centre ‘navigation bridge’ there is a brand new and fully digital 5.5-inch LCD instrument panel, alongside which the new handlebar controls are positioned, entirely redesigned in their ergonomics. The equipment is completed by the Piaggio MIA connectivity system, standard on the 400 hpe version, that lets you connect your smartphone to Beverly’s on board electronics system via Bluetooth.