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SCUDERIA LAMBRETTA?
Many vehicles were known to be used by The Ferrari Factory for local deliveries and collections. It is common knowledge that the factory owned 2 x Vespa Ape vehicles (scooter related pick up trucks still an everyday site in Italy today).

It was therefore considered that due to the markings this Lambretta could be one of those delivery machines. Scooters of under a certain cubic capacity required no registration documents or insurance therefore making it very difficult to trace histories etc. You simply bought it and hopped on. This is partly why the machines were so popular in Italy during the 1950's and 60's. The design brief was simple - create a machine that would allow people to carry out everyday tasks from shopping to work travel with some weather protection.

We do know is that this 1954 Lambretta LD 125cc was transported to the UK from the Modena area. We also know it was dry stored in a barn for sometime. I still find straw sticking out from hidden areas to this day. The chrome flourishes on the mudguard and side panels were possibly added during the late 1960's. The original paint has been worn through and some isolated repairs to paintwork have been made but these too have worn through in some areas with age. Earlier scooters also never required speedometers or the wearing of crash helmets.

Not being too concerned about the scooter's history dramatically changed last year at The Goodwood Revival, talking to a very smart older gentleman sat next to me drinking a cup of tea from a firmos flask.

He first commented of my Lambretta t shirt saying he had owned and ridden many throughout Europe during the 50's and 60's and had even travelled from Dover to Monte Carlo without the "old girl missing a beat". He told me he preferred Lambrettas to Vespas as the weight distribution was much better and therefore handling was improved. Motorcycles, he said, were too impractical you couldn’t carry anything or wear a suit, they were too dirty.

I then told him about my 1954 unrestored example and the fact it had scrappy stenciled Ferrari markings. His reply astonished me. He told me that the Scuderia had 2 old Lambrettas they used to use during race meetings. They would be strapped to the transporter under tarpaulin or (believe it or not) jammed between the cars. They were often seen buzzing about transporting mechanics or drivers about their daily business and often left laying on the grass or leaning against a Transporter during the race. They were dirty, damaged and treated like work horses. He continued they were either white or grey but (most important of all to me) they had 2 seperate saddles instead of one long seat. By the time he saw them they would have been already 10 years old and Lambretta had began to install the longer more comfortable seats.

Bent areas on the legshields could be explained by the strapping or jamming between cars. Wouldn't it be mad to imagine this wedged up to a 250 GTO?

Having now researched this I cannot find any evidence whatsoever to back the story up apart from some early pictures do show tarpaulins on the rear of the transporter. What lies beneath them remains a mystery.

We also know that the team would have required some type of handy, simple transportation for shifting people, tyres etc. The age and original location of the scooter certainly do fit into the story. The twin saddles also a detail.

The final thing the old gent told me before he slipped off to buy a cigar was that he remembered watching a slightly merry Ludovico Scarfiotti piloting one of the Lambrettas with Enzo Ferrari laughing loudly refusing his kind offer of a pillion. He did momentarily sit on the rear of the bike then got off before Scarfiotti was able to engage first gear.

Whether it is this Lambretta or if the Scuderia Lambrettas ever existed is proving very hard to establish. However it's a great story that I hope one day is backed up by solid evidence.

If anyone has further information please contact me on 07860 384090.

I can generally bring my car into a theme week if necessary...

But anyway - so, how much money does my car cost me per year? ?300 insurance, ?200 car tax, petrol (ummmm...yeah - but at least I do less than half the average UK mileage), tyres (ouch!), depreciation (let's not go there). Yeah - best not to know, I think....