That sinking feeling
With its low centre of gravity, the Lambretta was well-known for having good handling qualities. On the road, that is – not on the water
Sales of the Lambretta had slowed down significantly by the mid-1960s. It wasn’t because the product itself was no good; just a case of people’s changing attitudes to the way they travelled. It had been a slow decline since the peak in 1959 and, for the owners of the company, hard to accept. The only way to buck the trend was through advertising but it seemed the bigger the budget allowed, the less impact it had. Free advertising was the best option that came by way of planned publicity stunts. Peter Agg, the owner of Lambretta Concessionaires, loved the idea and was constantly thinking of new, quirky ideas that would make a quick impact. He openly encouraged the advertising department to do the same. It didn’t matter what it was as long as it got press attention.
Some ideas were carefully planned, like the idea to use the LI150 Special in the film Ferry Cross the Mersey with Gerry and the Pacemakers. This took several months to organise, but the free publicity was worth its weight in gold. There were periods where opportunities like this were hard to find and that’s when the real ‘way out’ ideas started to turn up. It had been a while since the launch of the Cento and Starstream, known as the J range, and things were not going that well. Peter Agg had great hopes for this economy model but somehow the public didn’t take to it like he had hoped. With sales disappointing from the outset, any sort of publicity that would get it into the mainstream press would be a very welcome boost.
Scratching their heads trying to come up with an idea, Rex White from the technical department had a eureka moment. His idea was to turn a J 125 into an amphiscooter. Everyone looked in disbelief as he suggested the idea but Rex believed he had the answer in making it work. Local to their factory in Croydon was a company that made plastic floats. By mounting one on either side of the scooter he thought it would be possible to float on top of the water. There was a lot more to it than just that. For the idea to be taken even remotely seriously it had to be able to travel on both land and water fully equipped. Peter Agg thought the idea was great when presented to him so he let them get on with it.
The first problem to overcome was how to attach the floats and tuck them away when travelling along the road. With each float bigger than the scooter itself, this was no easy task. It was a rather crude device but with two extensions bolted under the mainframe of the scooter and an angled hinge, somehow it worked – simply put in an upright position for the road then opened out and locked in place for use on the water. There were other obstacles to overcome, such as enough clearance for the exhaust and waterproofing the electrics. Rex and his team worked hard but soon enough they had a working prototype. The acid test of course was seeing if it would actually float and propel itself forwards. Tested on a local lake, somehow it did and Lambretta Concessionaires now had in their possession the most oddball scooter in the world.
Keen to get maximum exposure Bob Wilkinson, the company’s PR guru, went into overdrive. The idea was to drive the scooter down to the River Thames then sail it past the Houses of Parliament. To make it look like an everyday commuter machine a local dealer was asked to ride it. Bob’s idea was to dress him as a city gent in suit, bowler hat and briefcase. Accompanied by a girl, a local model they’d hired, they made it look like a simple everyday occurrence. With the press informed, a huge gathering soon assembled at the waterfront, almost like the launching of a ship. Everything went to plan as the little Lambretta sailed merrily alongside the most famous building in the country. The practicality of it was soon thrown out of the window with water splashing everywhere and at times the scooter meandered helplessly like a ship without a rudder.
It didn’t matter – the free publicity was priceless and they now also had something that could be used to gain attention at rallies. That’s what happened for a while, taking it to club events where there was water nearby. As Bob explained: “We all had a go on it just to see what it was like.” It wasn’t as easy as it sounds though, with many complaining about its lack of steering and someone who will remain nameless quoted as saying: “It was a complete bastard to get it to go in the direction you wanted.” The stress on the flimsy float attachments began to take their toll and on one excursion the inevitable happened – it sank. Bob and the others can’t remember where exactly this was but it was rumoured to be on a lake, not a river. Not sure if it was ever recovered; it’s perhaps laying there on the bottom like the Titanic. It was a sad day when it finally succumbed to the murky depths; a rather sinking feeling but one of fond memories for all that experienced it.