1959 Lambretta Li 150 with Swallow sidecar. Registration BAS...

Hammer

£5,000

1959 Lambretta Li 150 with Swallow sidecar. Registration BAS 785 (non transferrable). Frame number 150Li 589850. Engine number 150Li 7594981.
Sold with the V5C and key.
Manufactured by the Italian industrial giant Innocenti, the Lambretta scooter gained widespread acceptance in the 1950s, its cleanliness and convenience in particular appealing to those who regarded the true motorcycle with suspicion. Following the unreliable TV 175 Series 1, Lambretta went back to the drawing board to create one of its all-time greats: the Li. The Li was built as either a 125 or 150 using the bore/stroke dimensions of the preceding 'D' Series, producing 5.2hp and 6.5bhp respectively, while its new engine in over-bored form found its way into the revamped TV 175 Series 2 in 1959. The Li range was restyled along similar lines at the same time, with headlamp nacelle and faired-in handlebars, thus establishing the definitive Lambretta look that would endure until Italian production ceased in 1971.
Swallow sidecars was found by William Walmsley and William Lyons in 1922, over time the company grew into Swallow Coachbuilders and then the Jaguar car company. The sidecar business was sold on in 1956 to Watsonian who used the name for several years with the Jet 80, 90 and 100, together with the Flight and the Vulcan.
BAS was bought by our vendor in 2010 and is an older restoration, the outfit has been used a display for several years.