Iconic scooter brand Lambretta, owned by Switzerland-based consortium Innocenti S.A., had made a comeback! The Milan-origin brand’s scooters – assembled in India under licence from the 1950s into the early ’90s, first by Automobile Products of India (API) and, subsequently, Scooters India Limited (SIL) – have remained absent from the global market for over two decades, owing to Innocenti’s financial difficulties. Innocenti shut shop in 1972 after being acquired by British Leyland Motor Corporation, and later re-emerged as Innocenti S.A.
The V50 Special, V125 Special and V200 Special scooters are the first new products to bear the Lambretta badge. Revealed at EICMA in Milan, Italy, the scooters come with different engine capacities, and each gets two variants – Fixed fender and Flex fender. The new range of Lambrettas will be built in Taiwan and will go on sale in Europe in early 2018, moving on to other markets in June.
All three Lambretta models are steel-bodied, based on the same platform and sport identical dimensions. The smallest of the lot, the V50 Special, is powered by a 49.5cc, air-cooled, carburetted, single-cylinder motor, which produces 3.5hp at 7,500rpm and 3.4Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. The motor is belt-driven by a CVT and this configuration is common to all three models. The V125 Special gets a 124.7cc fuel-injected motor which produces 10.1hp at 8,500rpm and 9.2Nm of torque at 7,000rpm. The V200 Special’s motor, also fuel-injected, displaces 168.9cc and makes 12.1hp at 7,500rpm, and 12.5Nm of torque at 5,500rpm.
In terms of features, the V Specials are generously equipped and have LED headlights and as standard fitment. The tail-light and turn-signal indicators, too, are LED units. A 220mm hydraulic disc brake, along with a telescopic fork, is also standard on all models and so is a 110mm rear drum. While the V125 gets a combined braking system as standard, the V200 is the only scooter in the line-up to get a Bosch ABS unit. A 12-volt charging socket is also present on all three bikes.
The scooters get a 770mm seat height, which is the same as on the Vespa 125 and 150 offered in India. The wheelbase, at 1,330mm, is also 40mm longer than the current Vespa range in India. All three scooters are equipped with a 6.5-litre fuel tank.
India is also slated to get the new Lambrettas, though, most likely in 2019. As per the manufacturer’s representatives at EICMA, a manufacturing/assembly set-up is preferred for India (keeping in mind costs and volumes), explaining the timeframe it has in mind for an Indian debut. At present, Lambretta hasn’t confirmed if it will tie up with a local partner or enter as an independent entity.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
