A Lui by any other name
A chance encounter with a rare original-paint Vega
When I was a lad, back in the early 1980s, right at the very start of my national rally attendance, I was on the train at that time due to my age; and I can remember seeing these funny, little, strange but somehow appealing machines produced by Lambretta, (remember I was young and was not really interested in the history or accuracy of details; it was a Vespa or Lambretta, that was all I needed to know) zipping around the seaside towns that we regularly frequented for such mass gatherings.
I can remember there used to be a couple of blue ones, in metalflake and chrome, if my memory serves me right, that always seemed to be together, which looked really smart. ‘Little Darling' comes to mind and I did see a picture fairly recently on a Facebook site of them together – but now I want it for reference, I can't for the life of me find it to have another look.
I can't exactly remember how I found out what they were called (probably just by the Vega badge on the front, I don't know); but that was what I knew them as, and how I referred to them until fairly recently, to be honest.
It's only in relatively recent times, with somewhat of a resurgence of interest in these funky little machines, that I have picked up on the differences in name and design of the different variants.
As I was recently asked to collect a Vega for a good friend in Germany, then store it and take it with me the next time I go over to visit (whenever that may be), it was the ideal opportunity to have a right good look
at something that, to be honest, I hadn't really paid too much attention to in the past and quite frankly knew relatively little about.
So, after purchasing a copy of Vittorio Tessera's fantastically informative, interesting and colourful Lui book and after reading it carefully from cover to cover, I now consider myself one of the foremost authorities on the marque (well in our house, anyroad)!
THE LAMBRETTA LUI – AN IDIOT’S GUIDE
As the Space Age (which had started in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik 1) began to pick up pace and became more of a race, this also had an impact upon lifestyle and design. This inspiration is especially evident in the 1960s; check out the futuristic styling of the Ball/Globe Chair, the Raleigh Chopper and another great Italian invention, the Space Hopper, which coincidentally always reminds me of a Lui front end.
Innocenti entrusted their in-house prototype ideas to the much revered car styling and coach building company Bertone, which was also responsible, thankfully, for the sleek design of the Lambretta DL, or Grand Prix as it was named in the UK.
The design of the Lui was indeed space age and futuristic, perhaps a little too much so for the time and too far removed from the much loved and well established traditionally styled Lambretta. As a consequence, it never realised the commercial success its manufacturers hoped it would.
IT’S THE SUPERSCOOTER
The actual range of machines came under the banner of the Luna Range (also a clue to the Space Age theme) with all the little scooters of the range known in Italy as the ‘Lui'. With the base models having a 50cc motor and a low horsepower of just 1.5, they were aimed directly at the Italian youth market as it was possible to ride one without a licence from the age of 14. There were also two versions of the Lui with 75cc motors
– the 75S and the 75SL – which had the autolube system known as Lubematic, quite a technical advancement in two-wheeled transport for the time.
In simple terms, for the export market the 50cc version was known as the Luna (Moon), the 75cc S was known as the Vega (a bright star) and the 75cc SL with Lubematic was called the Cometa (Comet).
These were more or less the standards of exported machines but as usual, there were several variants dependent upon the regional sales territories, local vehicle licensing and homologation regulations.
So now this explains why, for so many years, I only knew of this machine as a Vega, as it and the Cometa were the only versions officially imported for sale in the UK – although I can't ever recall seeing a Cometa or even hearing the Cometa name back in the day.
TUTTI PER LUI... ...LUI PER TUTTI
Now let's take a look at this little Vega that is the subject of the article…
At first glance, stood at the side of the machine, I realise just how small it is; and as I wheel it about, it feels so light and delicate in comparison to the more robust and sturdier ‘traditional style' of Lambretta that I'm used to. I'm almost frightened of damaging it by pushing it, never mind sitting on it, or even daring to take it for a ride. But obviously these machines were a lot stronger than I imagine as there are many pictures out there of them being ragged about in scooter competitions of all disciplines.
The sparseness of bodywork and the simplicity is quite wonderful when studied for a while and I can actually appreciate the work that went into not overcooking the mix, getting this machine just right; a definite case of less is more.
I do think that this futuristic design, although, as previously mentioned, maybe considered a little too much for the time, was potentially future-proofed, as it wouldn't really look out of place on the modern city roads of today as a lightweight commuter machine and – dare, I say it? – even an electric powered two-wheeler, but let's not go there.
This particular machine is a genuine British scooter and was first registered in September 1970 in Taunton in Somerset. The colour is apparently unusual for a 75cc, as it was usually one of the colours reserved for use on the 50cc only; but as the saying goes in business, ‘The customer is always right'.
As the UK had the corporate weight of Lambretta Concessionaires behind the importing of the Lambretta, I think that if Mr Agg had woken up one morning and decided that he wanted a polka dot or tartan paint scheme, Innocenti would have accommodated him at that time to try and win valuable sales for the struggling Milanese company.
IT’S THE SAFE ONE
This Vega also has indicators fitted; albeit that the more knowledgeable on such a subject among you will have noticed that they are not correct for the machine. But as the correct wiring is present and the correct indicator switch is present – a rare item in itself – it can only be presumed that these have been replaced as a full set, possibly due to damage and the nigh-on impossible task of finding original genuine replacements.
There is also the aftermarket relatively modern-style exhaust fitted, which for my money doesn't do anything for the looks of the scooter, but the original item did come with the scooter when it was purchased.
And even though I was itching to swap it over for the photoshoot, it isn't mine and I would never, ever take the liberty of doing anything like that in a million years... especially as my friend reads the magazine and I think it may have given it away that I had been tinkering more than if I'd been stood in front of him with oily hands, a couple of spanners and an old exhaust.
IT’S THE MONEYSPINNER
The little Lui is experiencing an increase in popularity with many an owner undertaking and documenting some serious achievements, riding their strange little Lambrettas far, far further than they were ever designed for.
Over the last several years this boost in popularity has sparked off interest from Lambretta enthusiasts and big players on the scene, such as the guys from Rimini Lambretta Centre and Vittorio Tessera's Casa Lambretta, who have invested a lot of time, energy and brass into producing the CP One35 kit and other tuning goodies which absolutely transforms the light, cute, Italian runabout into a monstrous wolf in sheep's clothing, helping make the little lightweight Lui go faster – an awful lot faster.
With this resurgence in popularity the prices are on the increase, but to be fair, they still seem relatively good value compared with other soughtafter machines from the Innocenti back catalogue.
So even as a careful Yorkshireman (brass dun't grow on trees tha noz)! I might just be tempted to get one mi'sen!
[Thanks to Ulf for letting me get close to his new toy to use it in the feature, and thanks also to Siobhan Ellis, John Walklate and Markus Fröschen for the help in answering my questions].