First appearing as a brand name in 1947, the iconic Lambretta scooter was manufactured by the famous Italian scaffolding company, Innocenti, after the Italian government announced it was to provide grants to any company who could “mobilise Italy”. 

Innocenti used their scaffolding experience to build a scooter with a “spine” in direct competition with their main competitors, Piaggio, who used a monocoque construction to build the Vespa scooter. 

By the start of the 1960’s, the Lambretta scooter had already established itself as the market leading manufacturer into the UK (although the Vespa was the clear winner in its home territory). 

It had evolved from being a utilitarian open frame model with the Model A of 1947 to the ultra modern Series III range which was a very elegantly styled full enclosed machine with aesthetically pleasing angled panel work reminiscent of the luxury cars of the period. 

The DL (or GP in the UK Market) was the final incarnation of the Series III shape, first entering production in 1969 and seeing out the eventual close of the Innocenti plant in 1971. By this time, Innocenti was owned by the British car manufacturer BMC and was producing versions of the Austin/Morris Mini for the Italian Market and the writing appeared to be on the wall as they were in dire financial trouble due to mismanagement following the death of the founder of the company, Fernando Innocenti. 

For the DL, Innocenti knew they had to take it up a notch with their styling to make it usable for the future and they requested the help of the Bertone style house to pen upgrades to the now dated Series III design. The Lambretta was given a more angular look with a rectangular headlight, smooth side panels with a plastic grille and lost its chrome and polished alloy parts for black plastic or painted aluminium. 

Although a relatively successful machine with approximately 9,349 DL 200cc Models built, in 1971 the factory closed with only 748 DL200’s having left the factory that year. 

The Lambretta DL200 for sale here is a first year production machine dated to around July/August 1969 production. 

Prior to 1993 there is not a huge amount known about it’s history obviously having lived a reasonably quaint life as a commuter bike in Italy, however around this time the famous Lambretta collector and parts dealer Tino Sacchi acquired it. The engine that was in the DL at that point was a tuned engine and the decision was made to send it to Howard Chambers to be rebuilt and tuned further. Another engine was available on the shelf that Howard had ready for rebuild so the original engine for this scooter was put into stock. 

Mr Sacchi then offered this DL broken into it’s parts to the first UK owner and restorer in 1994 without an engine as Tino wanted to keep the tuned one and the bike made the trip the the UK. The restorer decided to undertake a restoration and an original GP200 engine casing was sourced with very close numbers in order to return it to some sort of originality (Lambretta frame and engine numbers were never exactly matched and were often up to 500 digits away from each other). 

However, the owner then contacted Howard Chambers and as it turned out, Howard still had the original engine so a swap deal was made and the original engine was reunited with the frame, so now there was no doubt this was a very original DL200! 

Over Winter 1993/1994 the restoration was completed and it was first MOT’d in January 1994 to be registered in the UK. Since then it has been cherished by 4 UK owners and even featured in the book “Classic Scooters” by Mike Webster. 

The current vendor has now decided it is time to move it on as he has not used it as much as he would like to and believes it’s time for somebody else to love it. 

Due to being an Italian import, there is not a great deal of paperwork prior to 1993, however after it’s import to the UK and the restoration, the machine has kept with it everything from MOT’s to tax discs and even is supplied with a copy of the book it is featured with. 

Obviously now being UK registered it is also supplied with a current UK V5C.

Smartly presented in its original Ochre colour, the machine still presents well given that it was restored in 1994! There is obviously some evidence that it has been used since the restoration and now has developed some very mild patination and has been touched up over the years, however this adds to the charm as it makes it a perfectly usable Lambretta you’d be proud to take to rallies or even use to go the shops every day on without being too scared! 

Fortunately all of the panel work appears correct and even features it’s original grey plastic toolbox in excellent condition (now a rarity) and as per the 1969 GP spec, has alloy horn grille and painted rear frame grille rather than black plastic as per the later production. Sitting atop the frame is a nice original “coffin” seat, and the black rubbers are all in good condition with no signs of breaking down. The machine also has a nice Cuppini inside leg shield spare wheel holder proudly displaying a Michelin ACS tyre in good condition on an original Innocenti wheel rim. 

It also features its original ignition lock, toolbox lock and steering lock which is a very nice feature and a testament to the attention to detail during its restoration and so often missed on many Lambrettas. It also features it’s original 140 kilometre per hour speedometer which are now almost obsolete! 

Having been subject to a comprehensive restoration, the scooter doesn’t leave much to be done and starts up well and idles with a steady pace that begs to be ridden. 

The engine has been rebuilt in the past and the engine casings present very cleanly with the original Innocenti gear change and clutch arms proudly sitting atop the engine. The bike has an original 22mm Carburettor and we are told the engine is very mildly tuned (but to what extent we are not sure) and goes very well indeed. 

It has a nice original style exhaust fitted with the correct Innocenti stamping on the box which gives it a nice, standard look. 

The ignition system has been upgraded to a 12 Volt Electronic Ignition item to help with both the running and also with the lighting on those dark nights. 

The suspension and brakes appear to all be in fine fettle with it stopping up well and most of the suspension components renewed during the restoration. The front Campagnolo disc brake has a reverse pull conversion which makes it far more effective without detracting from the original look. 

Perfect for the serious Lambretta collector or someone looking for your first opportunity to enter the Lambretta world, you can’t get much better than a DL200 for it’s sheer versatility and those incredible Bertone looks.  

With dedicated scooter events up and down the country and a huge amount of resource available both in terms of knowledge available and spare parts, you could win yourself the opportunity to become a true enthusiast with a machine to be proud of and a whole new scooter life ahead of you!