Sixty-year love affair The Lambretta Series 2
1959 would see the introduction by Innocenti of the Lambretta Series 2. In what would be the company’s glory years this machine led the way.
As the 1950s came to a close and the new decade was welcomed in, it was a time when Innocenti was at its greatest. Sales of the Lambretta had reached new levels both home and abroad and it seemed that nothing could stop their domination of the two-wheeled market. A new model was on the horizon and if it was a good as predicted then this would make the company even stronger. Labelled simply as the series 2, it would be made available in three different variants, starting with the budget Li 125 followed by the standard 150 and finally the most powerful of all, the TV 175.
The design was a natural progression from the series 1, but it offered far more than just a few upgrades and involved several significant changes. The most notable was the design of the headset. For the first time ever on a Lambretta, the headlamp would be housed in the headset. More importantly, it would turn with the handlebars. Up till that point, all Lambretta headlights were in a fixed position below the headset. This new design would allow far greater vision when driving at night and was deemed an important safety feature. Other improvements were to the engine with a revised cylinder layout on all models to increase power slightly.
Though there were other slight changes, none were as drastic as the headset. Innocenti, it seemed,didn't want to alter a winning formula too much and upset their customers. Though the series 2 was an improvement over its predecessor it wasn't that much different in its appearance. A clever move, as it has been proven over time that changing something too much can drive the public away.
Launch
Innocenti first announced details of the series 2 to the Press on March 9, 1959. A week later Lambretta Concessionaires followed suit as first news broke in the UK. What surprised many was the one chosen to be launched first, the TV 175. This was the highest specification model and by far the most expensive. More worryingly for dealers were its technical specifications. Alarm bells were quickly ringing throughout the industry as it soon became apparent that there were vast differences between it and the TV series 1. Upon closer inspection virtually every
component was different. Many dealers who had been told previously to stock up with a huge amount of spares for the TV 1 were up in arms as it was now an obsolete model. There was little that they could do apart from vent their anger.
The only saving grace was that the Lambretta was so popular their order books were full for the new machine even before it had landed on UK soil. Thankfully, the 125 and 150 variants remained the same so there was no extra worry where they were concerned.
Innocenti had lost out hugely by making the TV 1 unique in its engineering. This had been stopped by making all models in the series 2 range compatible and would remain this way throughout production right up to the Grand Prix.
The TV 175 series 2 would go on sale in the UK in May 1959 and would cost £189.10.0. This was followed in the summer months by both the 125cc and 150cc variants. The Li 150 with its competitive price tag of £20 less would become by far the most popular selling model, so much so that by the end of the year the Lambretta would become the biggest selling two-wheeled vehicle in the UK. Even the big motorcycle manufacturers like BSA and Triumph couldn't compete.
It wasn't the series 2 that had created this statistic. That was down to all the hard work over the last decade. It was there at the right moment in time though, and its popularity had made the Lambretta a world leader.
Sa aturation point
At a time when sales of the Lambretta were in the thousands each week, to keep pu ushing the brand even further required he eavy investment in advertising. This me eant far more than just road tests in ma agazines and the odd advert here and th ere. Almost every public vehicle, bi llboard or outdoor advertising space wo ould have a Lambretta on it and the m odel on show a series 2. Magazines would be full of adverts for th hem as well as national newspapers. To to op it off a huge television advertising c ampaign would make the series 2 the mostm viewed Lambretta ever by the UK
public. Eventually it would reach saturation point, but not until the series 2 had sold in the tens of thousands.
Racing pedigree
Though scooter racing and to a large extent tuning were still a few years off, the series 2 would be the first Lambretta ever to have a tuned engine from the factory. This wasn’t created by Innocenti, but by Lambretta Concessionaires in the shape of the ‘Rallymaster’. Only available to the UK market, it was seen as the first ever purpose-built sports Lambretta and, in fact, the only one.
Though tuning was basic and according to the official release ‘stage two tuning’, it showed what was possible. There were other added extras, most notably a rev counter to make it more appealing to the sports enthusiast. The model was based around the Li 150, but unfortunately no production figures were ever made available. Neither Lambretta Concessionaires or Innocenti failed to capitalise on its short-lived success so the series 2 will go down in history as the only Lambretta to have a sports model.
‘Slimline’ range
By 1961 Innocenti was well into revising the Lambretta design with the series 3. This was totally different in its styling and would be known as the ‘Slimstyle’. With its sleeker looks and profile, it would bear little resemblance to the series 2. Even so, many of the technical aspects such as the engine would use the same format. Though it didn't become available until the later part of 1962 it signalled the end of the series 2, the last ones rolling off the production line in the latter part of 1961. According to official figures over 300,000 were built, of which the Li 150 made up over half of that amount.
As soon as the ‘Slimstyle’ range was introduced it made the series 2 look rather outdated and this showed in its second-hand value. Many dealers would take them in as a trade-in against the newer model, but the price they would offer was detrimental, even if the condition was good. The problem was compounded by the fact that it had sold so well in the first place, meaning that there were now thousands flooding the second-hand market.
Currently, the series 2 has a loyal set of devotees amongst Lambretta enthusiasts. Those that are see it as the last properly built Lambretta before the introduction of inferior materials used in production such as plastic.
Whether or not that statement is entirely true doesn’t really matter, because what’s more important is that after 60 years the Lambretta Series 2 is still going strong. Happy birthday.