Spotted this stunning Lambretta tin toy in near mint condition… although it’s missing it”s rear seat.
It’s not cheap – on for $2,153 – not so long ago you could pick up a real LD for this – if you shop around maybe you still can.
On eBay here.
As Monty Python used to say, “Now for something completely different!” – The Lambretta del Mare – or “Lambretta of the Sea” . Now I’ve featured various “amphibious” Lammies before (here and here) but never a fully fledged Lambretta powered boat before!
The Lambretta del Mare was a pleasure boat built by SARA of Rome. It was shown at the 1950 Milano Fiera trade show in the Montecatini Pavilion. The pleasure boat was powered by a LC 125 Lambretta engine.
Described as ‘elegant and easy to drive’ and ‘the most comfortable and most modern motorboat’ ‘The Lambretta del Mare allows navigation even with very rough sea. The great maneuverability, the shape and lightness of the hull give it remarkable stability and safety qualities. I used an innovative “Peralum” aluminum body produced by Montecatini making it extremely resistant to corrosion.
Those of you with better Italian than I can probably discover more from the brochure featured above… but it starts off saying something like… “Today, for the first time in the world, we are presenting a nautical vehicle; the “Lambretta del Mare” which allows a large number of the public to achieve an aspiration considered unattainable so far due to the high purchase price and the difficulty of transport and shelter” So – I’m assuming it was quite affordable – easy to transport – and to store – as it goes on to say the boat would fit in a standard size garage.
I wonder if this actually made it into manufacturing? And if so, how many of these actually made… which begs the question… do any still exist? It would be the ultimate addition to any Lambretta collection!
Thanks again to regular Lambrettista contributor Darrin Slack for finding and sharing these images!
I have a credit for the top photo… if I have to credit anybody else, please let me know.
Following my post from the Spanish Lambretta / Serveta factory in Eibar, (here) I’ve been sent a ton of fantastic imagery from my online pal Darrin Slack – so much that they will be providing the majority of the posts for the forseeable future – my only issue is finding enough hours in the day to post them! Darrin is a self-admitted ‘bloody bloohound’ when it comes to anything Lambretta – and has scoured the internet to find these images – which kinda what I’ve been doing for to find content for this blog – but Darrin is far better at it than I am! So, all this stuff is out there on the internet already, but it’s nice for us Lambretta fans to have everything in one place eh? Hopefully this blog becomes a bit of a resource for anybody interested in Lambretta history.
Image Source: I will endeavour to post links to the sites where these images originally featured – and credit any original photographers etc. These images appear to originally come from the Fondazione ISEC Flickr account. The Fondazione ISEC was formed in 1973 for the purpose of collecting, conserving and enhancing sources of the history of the Italian Resistance movement and the labour movement. Over time, Fondazione ISEC has become a national reference point for whoever is interested in events concerning the political, economic and social history of contemporary Italy. They have appeared on various sites, and Pinterest accounts around the internet… hopefully posting them here is another way of preserving and publicising these great images. The Fondazione ISEC site is here: https://www.fondazioneisec.it/
Plenty more to come!
These shots are just the first of many, not only of the Lambretta factory, but also Lambretta trade shows, and various rarely seen publicity shots, as well as images of various Lambretta prototypes etc. Stay tuned for more of this good stuff! Thanks again to Darrin for sourcing and supplying me the images.
This would make a nice little addition to your LD or D Lambretta… An original NOS (New Old Stock) Fuel Gauge. It’s in fantastic condition and even comes in its original box – a thing of beauty in its own right. Available on eBay, here.
I got sent a link from Olivier in Toulouse about these fabulous aluminium and resin models based on scooters from “the golden age”. The models are going to be produced in a limited series soon, through Ulele, a European crowdfunding site.
I get sent a few things like this… scooter related ‘merch’, and to be honest, a lot of it is pretty poor. I think these are great though… Olivier has managed to convey the essence of each scooter in the minimum number of elements; really, really cool.
As well as LD, (probably still the most popular Lambretta in France), and a Vespa, there is a rather lovely Peugeot. The models aren’t cheap, but, as ever, you get what you pay for. They’d make a great present for anyone who loves their classic scoots.
Check out the details on the Ulele site, or Olivier’s Facebook page.
A lovely little movie about a family Lambretta that was lost for twenty years before being found again. There’s English subtitles, if you’re French isn’t quite up to scratch.
Via the marvellous Petrolicous site
nteresting scrambler on eBay, no visible frame numbers, so it will have to remain an “off-roader”, but it’s got visible engine numbers. The fish-tail exhaust is pretty cool!
Becky posted a picture of her Mum, who was “Miss Lambretta” back in the day…
Must say, this is a cracking pic that sums up a bygone era. A classic beauty, on a classic beauty!
Let us know more of the back story Becky, and I’ll update the post.
If you’ve got any old Lambretta pics, let me know, and I’ll happily put them up on the blog. Thank you for your patience, while there has been a short ‘hiatus’ in posting – more soon.
I’ve previously found a few gems on the Italian eBay site, so I thought I’d have a look and see what’s going on elsewhere on the continent… and found this rather wunderbar NSU Lambretta with Dynastart… which the seller assures us works if the battery is fully charged. Looks like it’s in great original condition. I’m loving those saddles!
It’s priced at €3,500… and as it doesn’t ship to the UK (if you’re in the UK that is!), you’ll have to arrange collection.
Here’s the link on eBay Germany
UPDATE: I originally thought the model name was BJ, but it was my mistranslation from German… Bj. stands for Baujahr, or year of construction. Well, everyday’s a school day!
Found this over on the Italian version of eBay… a racing Lambretta prepared for the classic Milano Taranto stage race – a classic that ranks alongside the Paris-Dakar, Bol d’Or and Isle of Man TT. Based, by the look of it on a cutdown LD (or it could be a LC… any shaft drive experts out there care to enlighten me) rather than the more usually seen race prepped D’s it’s got a bunch of race ‘goodies’ including a double tank and a trumpet carb. Certainly looks the business.
I don’t think this bike raced in the 50’s version of the Milano Taranto (although I could be wrong) but in one of the more recent anniversary events. The only real giveaway is the Castrol logo… that version dates from the 70’s I think. It’s probably clear on the eBay site, but the subtleties of the Italian langue escape me.If you know more, please enlighten me in the comments!
If you want to find out more about the race, there’s a great website here. If you want to find out more about the scoot, and male get a bid in, Here’s the eBay link
If this scoot reminds you of something (it did me) it might be this race rep Vespa. I think the Vespa might actually be prettier… but the Lambretta is more badass!
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