From its origins the Italian battlefields of the Second World War, to movie roles as Audrey Hepburn's iconic transport in Roman Holiday and Sting's stylish companion in Quadrophenia and on through the current vintage revival, the classic Italian motor scooter is an enduring design classic from the 20th century. With a host of stylish photographs, superb original advertising (for both scooters and their parts) as well as a myriad of rare photographs, artowrks and designs, Scootermania celebrates the superbly simple vehicles that are so symbolic of feedom, style and the modern world. The book contains chapters dedicated to the 1940s origins of the classic scooter in Milan and Pontedera, Tuscany. Early chapters look at scooter racing and long- distance attempts, as well as other more laborious tasks (including as an anti-tank weapon in the French army). The iconic role of scooters in popular culture from films, music and fashion is given due attention while the penultimate chapter Scooter Style, chronicles how generations across the world have made the bikes their own - from the British Mods of the 1960s and 1980s to their role in American and Japanese fashion and in their Italian homeland. The book presents 20 features on celebrated bikes including such classics as the Vespa 150 GS and the Lambretta Li 150 Series 3. Various scooter stars such as Enrico Piaggio and Georges Monneret are celebrated through new and archival interviews and much of the story is told through original documentation, reviews and news reports.