Lambretta

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Innocenti Lambretta
Lambretta of NSU made
NSU Lambretta from 1955 (paint not original)

The Lambretta is a scooter that was designed and built by the Italian vehicle manufacturer Innocenti . Over four million units were manufactured at the headquarters. If you take into account the license productions in various countries in Europe, South America and India, the Lambretta is one of the most popular two-wheelers in the world. The cargo tricycle also mobilized half of Asia.

history

Innocenti originally manufactured steel tubes. During the Second World War, ammunition cases and vehicle parts were manufactured under a BMW license. In 1945 the engineer Pierluigi Torre was commissioned to design a scooter. The name Lambretta was chosen after the Lambrate district of Milan. The result was an inexpensive motor scooter with an encapsulated drive unit swing arm and tubular steel frame. The sheet metal clothing initially only consisted of a splash guard in front of the driver's feet.

The Lambretta soon became a success, and at an early stage Innocenti issued licenses worldwide, B. in Germany to NSU , Fenwick in France, Serveta in Spain, Pasco in Brazil, Auteco in Colombia, Siambretta in Argentina and API in India. The Lambretta models were characterized by technical quality and innovations. Vehicles from Innocenti were among the first to have electronic ignition or disc brakes . The equipment of the two -stroke powered scooters ranged from the 125 cm³ engine with 4.3 HP of the first models to the 200 cm³ engine with 12 HP at the end of the development in 1971.

The crisis in the two-wheeler business at the end of the sixties did not leave Innocenti unaffected. Production was stopped in 1971. 1972 Scooter India Ltd. (SIL) all production machines and manufactured Lambrettas according to the DL model until the end of the 1990s. Spare parts, motor rickshaws and tricycles are manufactured up to today in SIL. Serveta in Spain also manufactured motor scooters based on the 3rd series LI / SX under the name Lince / Lynx, series 80 and Jet 200, until the mid-1980s. In some cases, technical innovations such as larger headlights, shock absorbers on the fork and parts made of glass fiber reinforced plastic were introduced.

Today the Lambretta is enjoying increasing popularity among classic car enthusiasts as a classic vehicle with a high cult value. But the scooter scene also appreciates the scooters from Innocenti and uses them as a basis for a variety of conversions and tuning measures, even today new tuning parts are still being developed in order to elicit more power from the aged engines or to improve them technically.

In 2018, the Austrian KSR Group is filling the historic brand name Lambretta with new life in cooperation with Innocenti.

Models

bicycle

Scooter moped Licenses Automobiles
"Cardan Models (ABCDEF)" Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Smallframe 39-50 cm³ Germany France Spain India Great Britain
  • Model A (m) 125
  • Model B 125
  • Model C 125
  • Model LC 125
  • Model D 125
  • Model LD 125
  • Model LDA 125
  • Model E 125
  • Model F 125
  • Model D 150
  • Model LD 150
  • Model LDA 150
  • Li 125
  • Li 150
  • TV 175
  • Li 125
  • Li 150
  • TV 175
  • Li 125
  • LiS 125
  • DL / GP 125
  • Li 150
  • LiS 150
  • SX 150
  • DL / GP 150
  • TV 175
  • GT / TV 200
  • SX 200
  • DL / GP 200
  • J 50
  • J De Luxe 50
  • Lui 50
  • Vega / Cometa 75
  • Cento 100
  • J 125
  • JS 125
  • J SS 125
  • Lambretta 48
  • Lambrettino 39cc
  • Lambrettino SX
  • Model D 125
  • Model LD 125
  • Model LD 150 Super Luxe
  • Serveta D 125
  • Serveta LD 125
  • Li 2 125
  • Li 3 125
  • Series 80 125
  • Lince 125
  • Li 2 150
  • Li 3 150
  • Series 80 150
  • Lince 150
  • TV 2 175
  • TV 3 175
  • SX 200
  • Jet 200
  • PONY 200
  • Series 80 200
  • Lince 200
  • AMIGA 200
  • API D 125
  • API LD 125
  • API Li 2 150
  • API Lamby 150
  • API Lamby Polo 150
  • SIL GP 150
  • API MAC S 175
  • SIL GP 200

tricycle

On the basis of the 125M series, Innocenti also produced the three-wheel scooter Lambro as a cargo tricycle from 1949 until production was discontinued (January 1972). In India, the Lambro was made by Scooter India Ltd. taken over and continued to build. Over the years, different versions of the superstructure, cabin and engine have been developed. In the first model, with the loading area in front of the driver, a strong central tube formed the frame, and a trapezoidal fork led the rear wheel. Starting with the FD model, the loading area was behind the driver, the front wheel was guided in a drawn short swing arm , and the engine was placed under the saddle. The power was transmitted via a cardan shaft to the rear axle with a differential. In 1955 the engine capacity was increased to 150 cm³. The Lambro 175/200 was equipped with a modified, pushed short swing arm on the front wheel and was the first type under the official sales name "Lambro".

model Construction year Displacement Technical specifications particularities
FB 1949-1950 123 cc 4.3 hp at 4200 rpm 1.10 × 0.85 m loading area, empty weight 140 kg, payload 200 kg, turning circle 3.5 m, three-speed transmission.
FC 1950-1952 123 cc 4.3 hp at 4200 rpm mechanical parking brake, hydraulic foot brake
FD 1952-1959 123 cm³ / 146 cm³ from 1955 6.2 hp at 5200 rpm Rear loading area, trailed short swing arm, engine under the saddle, payload 300 kg
FDC 1959-1963 146 cm³ / 175 cm³ from 1960 7.7 hp at 5200 rpm closed cabin, tipper or box body with suicide doors and two-person bench (taxi), reverse gear, from 1960 with flashing system, maximum weight 800 kg
Lambro 175/200 1963-1965 175 cc / 198 cc Pushed short swing arm, doors attached to the A-pillar, loading area 2.91 × 1.41 m, payload 500 kg
Lambro 450/500 1965-1967 198 cc 9.2 hp at 4800 rpm two headlights, interior lighting
Lambro 550N / A 1967-1969 198 cc Motor outside the cabin under the loading area, max. Weight 1005 kg
Lambro 550V 1969-1970 198 cc with steering wheel, gear lever and foot-operated all-wheel brake
Lambro 600M / V 1970-1972 198 cc 10.3 hp at 5500 rpm with steering wheel or handlebar possible, payload 600 kg

  • Lambretta FD

  • Lambretta FDC (Series 2)

  • Lambro 175 (API)

  • Lambro 200

  • Lambro 450
    (Scooter India Ltd)

  • Lambro 550
    (Scooter India Ltd)

  • Lambro 550A
    (Scooter India Ltd)

Replicas

In 2011 the Italian Motom Electronics Group presented a new Lambretta at the Italian motorcycle fair EICMA in Milan. The new Lambretta came on the market in 2012 with air-cooled 125 cm³ and 150 cm³ engines, and in 2013 50 cm³ versions should follow.

In 2014, the British manufacturer Scomadi presented a replica of the Lambretta with 50 cm³, 125 cm³ and 200 cm³ engines, the dismantling parts of which were made of plastic, at Intermot 2014. Except for prototypes, larger engines and higher quality metal scooters have not been manufactured.

See also

literature

  • Nigel Cox: Lambretta - An Illustrated History.
  • Pete Davis: Lambretta. Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1st edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-613-03764-9 .
  • Friedrich Ehn: On two-wheelers into the economic miracle. Post-war mopeds and motorcycles. 1st edition. GeraMond, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7654-7784-2 .
  • Norbert G. Mylius: scooters, scooter mobiles and rarities. Norbert Mylius self-published, Maria Enzersdorf am Gebirge 1958.
  • Andrea Sparrow, David Sparrow: The Lambretta Album . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01994-9 .
  • Vittorio Tessera: Innocenti Lambretta - The Complete History.

Web links

Commons : Lambretta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Welt.de
  2. ↑ Lambretta FB
  3. ↑ Pete Davis, p. 134.