The urban microcar was not yet fashionable when Acma, which had mounted the famous Vespa scooter in France since 1951, decided to market a real car in a minimal format in 1957. Entirely French in design, the Vespa 400 was equipped with a two-cylinder two-stroke engine and about 25,000 units were sold until 1961. From 1960 to 1961 a "GT" version with a 4-speed gearbox was also produced, while the basic version , produced until 1960, had a 3-speed gearbox.