The Vespa Rally 180 followed the Vespa 180 Super Sport as the most powerful Vespa in the production program and is the first large Vespa model with the rotary valve control, which was previously only used in smaller models, instead of direct intake.

The single cylinder - two-stroke engine (bore 63.5 mm, stroke 57 mm, compression ratio 1: 8) type VSD1M provides 10.3 bhp at 5700 / min. The manual four-speed gearbox transfers the power directly to the rear wheel. The tank holds 8.2 liters, including 1.8 liters reserve.