Modern Vespa

Anyone seen the two Lambretta Series 5 Lambrettas from Lambretta Innovation in the UK in this months Scootering Magazine? What cool scooters and I want one!

If you didn't see Scootering check out these links :

http://www.kingslynnscootershop.co.uk/lambretta-series-5---poa-1000-deposit-699-p.asp

http://www.lambrettainnovation.co.uk/view_page.php?pid=8
(also see current and past projects)

Anyone got experience of these? I would like to get one and was wondering what were the best options to choose. Tuned 125, 180, water or air cooled, brakes, seats, etc etc you know the sort of thing - what do ya think? I was thinking along the lines of one based on a Gilera Runner 180 doner scooter? Let me know your thoughts.

Yup... we were discussing this a few months back. People are quick to bemoan the fact there isn't a TRUE 'new lambretta'. You can have one custom made for you by those guys for about what it would cost you to buy what they anticipated the L-series from CMSI to cost.

( and it will be made of a real lambretta GP frame, too. )


Kinda like if someone was taking a VBB and sticking disc brakes an an automatic engine in it. Wouldn't it be a more legitimate "modern vespa" than the 4-strokers we discuss on this forum? Afterall, it would be a modernized classic, not a redesign out of left field. Not to put down the current vespa offerings, but they borrow only somewhat aesthetically from the curves that made them famous. Each model gets a little closer... a little more like a recognizable imitation ( like the cowl louvers on the GTS300, or the square headset on the Vespa S - both of which i like, incidentally )

but, think of it in parallel with the "new lambretta" argument:

Adly scooters are being shipped over with a vinyl sticker that says "lambretta" on it, and they look nothing like a lambretta. Another company "lambretta innovations" aka "mb developments" ( i believe ) make the Series 5, which is an old Lambretta that's been modified to accept a newer automatic engine. Which is truer to form?

just food for thought. In many ways the stella is more "vespa" than a "vespa" is, even though it's made by a different company in a different country. It depends on what you believe makes up the product : is it the brand name? The history? The aesthetics? The functional purpose? The price point?

Eric, good points, but the same can be said about the current Mustang...it borrows styling cues from the original cars, but it's really a modern imitation...What you're talking about, taking an original bike and modernizing it, would be what the car guys call a "resto-mod" and that's a niche market, not something any OEM would do.

Agreed. I'm more just questioning the intangibles of a product, a brand, etc.... as you said, the same argument could be made for the modern mini, VW Beetle, mustang, charger, or any other car that's had it's model name / product sticker applied to something only vaguely resembling the original...or in which the similarities are only as deep as limited visual cues and resemblances.

*edit* this isn't an attempt to draw the ire of the thin-skinned. I just got my nose out of an advertising textbook and it got me thinking about what defines the 'vespa' or 'lambretta' brands now vs. then.

I'm sure if the OEM's could scrounge up old donor vehicles, or reuse the old molds and dies and reproduce the originals with modern running gear..they'd do it in a heartbeat. It would be a helluva lot cheaper! But the government would never allow it.

LOL, look at it this way...The GTS is alot better, compared to the originals, than, say, an earlier attempt at retro, the Mustang II was to the original! It could be worse!

Very effing true. I was driving behind a Mustang 2 this morning on my way to the media blaster ( to drop off my '65 SS180 - finally embarking on the restoration process ), and i could taste my breakfast burrito coming back up as i stared at that vehicle. What on earth were they thinking when they took such an iconic vehicle with such a rich history and classic lines, and turned it into that???

There are other, equally nauseating examples...The Bronco II, the early 80's Dodge (er, Mitsubishi) Charger, the K car based Imperial, Chevy's Korean made Nova..the list goes on. Burp.

While not a truly new Lambretta, it's definitely got some appeal.

In the Jet and GP's it looks natural, but in the older models with the more curvy front fender it does not look quite as nice.

If they had these in the US I could be tempted.