Our Classic Vehicle this month will bring back memories of the swinging 60`s and oozes Italian charm and style. It is the legendary Lambretta Scooter.
Lambrettas were designed and originally manufactured by the Innocenti Company in Milan, Italy from 1947 until 1971. However, due to the rise in the popularity of the cheap small family car, such as the BMC Mini and 1100, the demand for motorcycles/scooters fell, and the company went into liquidation. Fortunately the continuing potential of the scooter was recognised by the Indian Government and the rights and tooling were purchased and transferred to Lucknow, India. Lambretta manufacturing by the SIA Company commenced in 1972 and continued until 1997.
Our Classic is a Lambretta GP 200, but started life as a Vijay Supra 150( GP 150) back in 1986 and for its first 22 years had a hard working life in India. When this scooter was imported into the UK in 2008 it was a complete wreck, being hand painted in sand coloured household emulsion paint, with no electrics, seat, lights, and had only one wheel!
The present owners, Malcolm and Dorinda, completely renovated the scooter, replacing all missing parts, beating out and repainting the frame and panels, and increasing the engine capacity to 200cc.
They now proudly ride their immaculate Lambretta around Paphos reliving their youth memories of the 60s/70s. Come and meet Malcolm and Dorinda and view their classic scooter at any of our PCVC Meetings, details of which can be found on our Facebook page, or our website (www.paphosclassicvehicleclub.com), or, telephone 97760997.
Useless Facts No. 120
Classic scooters will always be associated with the names of Lambretta and Vespa but did you know that “vespa” is Italian for “wasp” and a “lambretta” is a mythical Italian water sprite.
