Initially born as a model within the Aprilia range, today Scarabeo is a brand in its own right, always part of the Piaggio group.

The title of the research that, in 1990, gave birth to the high wheel scooter is “Study for a City Bike”;[1] the first sketch presents the central tunnel, the large section wheel, a single-sided front fork.

From the pencil of Giuseppe Ricciuti,[2] designer of all the Scarabeo, two projects are born: the first derives from an intermediate version of the original city bike (traditional suspensions, lower section wheels and central tunnel); the second, more slender, loses the tunnel and provides wheels with a smaller section and larger diameter.

[3] In the panorama of motorcycles of the period, the Scarabeo tried to combine the protection of the fairings typical of scooters with "high" wheels, that is, of classic dimensions rather than the more common reduced ones.

In 2001, the 50 displacement underwent an initial restyling and was equipped with a two-stroke DiTech engine (first generation direct injection for mopeds), also present on another Aprilia scooter, the sporty SR.