New Lambrettas Launched In Australia, India Launch On The Cards?

After a hiatus of over 20 years, renowned Italian scooter manufacturer Lambretta is all set to make a comeback. The company had earlier showcased its V range of scooters at EICMA 2017, which will now be launched in Australia on 25 August 2018. This includes the V50, V50 Special, V125, V125 Special, V200 and the V200 Special, which will be retailed through nine dealerships in the country.

The V range essentially consists of three scooters the V50, V125 and V200 which have a Special variant as well. While the V scooters come with a flex fender setup that turns with the front wheel, the Special range gets a fixed fender, typical of the iconic Lambrettas of yesteryears. All variants sport a steel body, share the same platform and hence, have identical dimensions.

Smallest of the lot, the V50 and V50 Special are powered by a 49.5cc air-cooled, carbureted, single-cylinder Euro 4-compliant engine. It is good for 3.5PS of power at 7500rpm and 3.4Nm of torque at 6500rpm. The larger V125 and V125 Special, meanwhile, get a 124.7cc fuel-injected motor that produces 10.2PS of power at 8,500rpm and 9.2Nm of torque at 7,000rpm. To put things into perspective, the Vespa VXL125 makes 10.5PS of power. Powering the biggest of the lot, the V200 and V200 Special, is a 168.9cc fuel-injected motor good for 12.1PS at 7500rpm and 12.5Nm at 5500rpm.

The Special variants boast of a healthy equipment list. For starters, Lambretta has equipped them with all-LED lighting, a 12V charging socket, a 220mm front disc brake, 6.5-litre fuel tank and telescopic fork. On top of this, the V125 gets a combined braking system, while the V200 Special features an ABS unit from Bosch. To give you an idea of the seating ergonomics, its 770mm seat height is the same as that of the Vespa 125 and 150 that’s on sale in India. Its 1,330mm wheelbase, however, is about 40mm longer than the Vespas sold in India. 

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As we had reported last year in November, it would be safe to assume that these Lambretta scooters will arrive at our shores. However, given the fact that importing these two-wheelers to India will be an extremely expensive proposition, we expect the company to look for a manufacturing or assembly plant here.

What keeps us optimistic though is the fact that the manufacturer is in the process of assessing a good distribution system. Though we can’t put our finger on a timeline, we expect them to launch here sometime in 2019. However, there’s still no word on whether Lambretta will come here independently or tie up with a local partner.