New Series I-esqe Lambretta Design

Scootermercato shared an Italian language article about a new Lambretta design. I like the color and the headlight has been moved to the front of the leg-shield. The angle of the headset and light position likely taunt those passionate Lambrettisti who adore the the first series of LI model scooters that followed the LD with enclosed bodywork. The photo looks great because the scale would be perfect if those would be 10″ wheels. But they are 12″ and if placed alongside other models it’s lack of proper proportion would be more apparent.

If you are interested in the Lambretta Saga, check out the Lambretta.com site. It is now mostly a posting of legal actions the supposed true copyright holders are taking against everyone involved in anything tangentially related. Tartarini the younger designed this new bike. They should have just done these bikes under a name of a different Lombardy river or maybe just the Italjet founder surname.

One thought on “New Series I-esqe Lambretta Design”

  1. “They should have just done these bikes under a name of a different Lombardy river or maybe just the Italjet founder surname.”

    That does seem like the obvious answer, especially because the current state of the Lambretta marque has become an absolute joke to anyone actually interested in vintage scooters.

    But again, the picture is far bigger to all the parties involved here. If there was any emotional involvement from any of the players, it’s long gone and now it’s all about money and pride at this point. I figure the manufacturers and designers made a huge investment of time and money with the understanding they’d have the rights to the name, and they know their return on investment would be a fraction of their plans without it. On the other hand, the Consortium’s goal is to turn the Lambretta brand into something far bigger than scooters (again, i cite Sailor Jerry as the model) The consortium needs the scooters just as a launching pad for brand relevance, but nothing else.

    Honestly, all we, as scooterists, need to know is that none of these people are Lambretta. Whatever comes of this, there may be a shiny retro-styled scooter, but Lambretta is dead and there’s no reason for us to get excited about this new product until it proves itself on its own merits. Attractive as it may be, it’s still a badge-engineered asian scooter with no legitimate connection to the history of Lambretta. Lesser consumers may be fooled, but we should not.

    That’s not a dig on modern scooters, but the modern scooters we support stand up on their own merits and features and history, not on a badge.

    If you feel like this thing has any pre-ordained legitmacy as a Lambretta, I have a Benelli to sell you. (Seriously, please take this Benelli off my hands)

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