D’ELEGANCE
The famous Italian scooter company hoped this 250cc GP racer would spark a whole new range of motorcycles to boost its strength in the growing two-wheeler market of the 1950s
The V-twin 250 that Lambretta had planned to race to kickstart a range of road-going motorcycles
‘CAMSHAFT DRIVE WAS BY A SHAFT AND STRAIGHT-CUT BEVEL GEARS, SUPPORTED BY BALL RACE BEARINGS’
It might seem strange now to learn that one of the most prolific of the Italian scooter manufacturers had ever developed a conventional motorcycle with the intention of racing it in Grands Prix but there was good reason for the Lambretta 250cc V-twin.
Lambretta was the brainchild of former blacksmith Ferdinando Innocenti. He had established Innocenti, his own machining company, in the Lambrate suburb of Milan – and created the Lambretta scooter to fulfil a demand for post-war, low-cost commuter two-wheelers.
At this point there are two different views as to why the Lambretta racer was conceived. One story is that by the late 1940s/early ’50s, other manufacturers were threatening to muscle in on the lucrative scooter market, so Innocenti countered the threat by commissioning a conventional two-wheeler to show Lambretta had the means to muscle in on their market! The other is that Lambretta wanted to break into the motorcycle market, but Moto Guzzi vehemently opposed the move.
Whichever one is true, the fact is that Lambretta pulled a master stroke at the 1951 Milan Show by launching their 250-class, 90° V-twin race bike – a drysump, single-overhead-cam design which would eventually evolve into a wet-sump, double-overheadcam bike by the time it was retired in 1953.
The first prototype was designed by the gifted engineer Giuseppe Salmaggi who, pre-war, had worked for Belgian manufacturer Saroléa before joining Gilera to create the Saturno single in 1939. Post-war, he had joined Parilla to develop a 250cc overhead-camshaft single-cylinder racer along with other machines.
The sad thing was that the company never pursued the project with any great commitment. The Lambretta was raced – although not particularly successfully – by
Romolo Ferri and Cirillo ‘Nello’ Pagani (the first-ever 125cc World Champion in 1949 riding a Mondial and the man who had debuted the Salmaggi-designed Parilla 350 in 1950). The innovative 247.3cc V-twin motor with bore and stroke of 54mm x 54mm used a shaft drive, the overall design concept predating the famous Moto Guzzi layout of the same configuration by some 13 years.
Each alloy cylinder head had a cam box cast integrally which housed its single overhead cam supported by roller and ball bearings. The heads featured two valves per cylinder, with triple valve springs and shim tappets. Camshaft drive was by a shaft and straight-cut bevel gears, supported by ball race bearings. The cooling fins were not only on the heads and barrels, but also on the rocker covers. In typical Italian style, the dry sump was also finned, as was the oil tank which was located under the racing seat.
The front of the engine cases carried the flywheel magneto and rev-counter drive, while the five-speed gearbox was bolted to the rear of the cases, with final drive delivered to the rear wheel by a shaft.
The frame featured a large-diameter top tube, but no front down-tubes. Front suspension was by 32mm conventional telescopic forks. Salmaggi experimented with a conventional twin-shock rear end (shown here) and a torsion-bar set-up with friction dampers.
The bike never enjoyed the fruits of a sustained racing programme, although after its retirement from the track it was used for occasional bike show displays until 1962. The example shown here, number one of the two built, was discovered abandoned amongst the rubbish in the Lambretta factory after it closed in 1972.
Photographed in Milan, Italy. 2011. Casa Lambretta collection.