Seattle, WA November 18, 2004

"I SPY . . . A NEW LAMBRETTA!"

Picture provided by Scootering Magazine

Cynical people amongst you (scooterists being cynical . . . as if!) may have dismissed recent reports of the birth of a new Lambretta scooter as a mere flight of fancy. However as these spy shots from the development dungeon of Preston’s Scooter Innovations reveal, progress on a first ‘phase zero’ prototype is already at an advanced stage. CMSI and the Khurana Group the parties behind the Lambretta USA project – certainly appear to be serious about producing a technically modernised but classically styled scooter.

As rumoured, motive power for the project does indeed come from the Piaggio factory, with the prototype being built around a 250 Quasar engine as fitted to the recent X9 250. This unit is interchangeable with the 125cc Leader engine, thus providing a learner-legal option that will be demanded by many countries. Ignoring the irony of the new Lambretta’s engine coming from the Vespa factory, this is far from bad news. The 22hp 250cc Quasar engine is probably the best in its class and should be able to provide a top speed in the region of 85mph with regular 75mph cruising and quite reasonable fuel consumption. If Lambretta USA plump for the 15hp water-cooled 4-valve Leader 125 engine – as opposed to the less powerful air-cooled version used in the ET4 – then the learner legal one should have similar performance to the new Vespa GT 125 and a top speed in excess of 65mph.

Frank Sanderson’s previous ‘Series 4’ automatic engined frame conversions use isolastic rubber bushes for the engine mountings, but Lambretta USA have specified a different engine mounting system for their machine. Instead the new Lambretta uses the same complex linkage system as the Piaggio X9 to isolate engine vibrations from the chassis, and this – along with the use of 12” wheels – should provide a smoother ride than any Innocenti product.

See the December issue of Scootering Magazine for the full article and additional pictures. http://www.scootering.com/next.htm

Seattle, WA February 12, 2004

"Lambretta USA Announces Opening of Italia Offices"

Upon returning from our latest trip to the birthplace of Lambretta, ( Milano ) and other cities and vendor plants in Northern Italy, Lambretta USA announced the formation of the Lambretta Italia offices in Desenzano, Italy.

The Desenzano offices of Lambretta USA will coordinate the Italian sourcing and Italian vendor relations.

Christopher Sparacino of CRG S.p.A., the world leader in high performance karting and holder of three consecutive world karting championships, will head up the Lambretta Italia offices for Lambretta USA.

Seattle, WA December 8, 2003

Lambretta International announced today in Seattle, Washington that the world famous Italian scooter brand "Lambretta" will be returning to the North American scooter market in 2004.

Lambretta was introduced to the USA market in the 1950s to compete with Vespa, another Italian scooter. The two Italian pioneers in the scooter industry soon dominated the USA scooter market, and have continued to maintain a high level of enthusiasm amongst the scootering community. Even during their absence, both had managed to remain as icons in the scooter industry.

Vespa scooters, built by Piaggio, returned to the US market three years ago and quickly re-established the product, and a nationwide dealer network, due to its famous past and brand recognition.

Lambretta USA, a division of Lambretta International, will be competing directly with Vespa again for the throne of the USA scooter market.

Lambretta International, owned by the Khurana family of Seattle, WA, has entered into an Operating Agreement with CMSI of Preston, WA to manage the North American Lambretta operations, including US final assembly, Marketing and Customer Services for Lambretta USA.

The Khurana family has successfully been in the automotive and Powersport Industry for over 20 years in the Seattle area.

According to Lambretta International, CMSI was chosen by Lambretta for their outstanding infrastructure of parts and technical support and also due to the extensive experience CMSI has developed with EPA, DOT and CARB regulatory agencies in manufacturing products to meet and exceed the government agencies' standards.

The new Lambrettas will be assembled in the USA with Italian components as key elements.

Lambretta USA has contracted a local design firm, Smith Design Works, to create and manage their branding, graphic standards, and marketing collateral.

According to Jeff Smith, founder of SDW and a long time scooter enthusiast, "We feel our initial obligation is to the Lambretta enthusiast that has clung to the marque like a Romeo awaiting the return of his Juliet. We realize all too well the high standard Luigi Innocenti set with his Lambretta scooters and their reincarnation that we have now committed ourselves to. In fact, a significant section of the new Lambretta website will be dedicated to the vintage Lambretta enthusiasts and the vintage Lambretta models, their parts, rallies, clubs, and accessories. Everyone involved in this venture is ecstatic about bringing back this pinnacle piece of scooter history. And frankly, because it's the rekindling of such a passionate love affair, it's all we can do to keep from smiling all the time.