In the mid 1970s the Indian government saw an opportunity in the capital
equipment leftover from Innocenti’s activities. Seeing an opportunity
to create vehicles that would meet the needs of the poor and low income
in that country, India had all the equipment shipped to their location
and set up for new production.
The Indian company that would take on the Lambretta moniker was Automobile Products of India, otherwise known as API. API’s own rich history began in 1949 in what was then known as the British colonial city name of Bombay. Today renamed Mumbai, API started with the licensing and production capability for the second in the Lambretta model series of scooters and produced a 150cc engine model based on similar design.
GP 200, Blurbit, 2008.
However, it was Scooters India Limited that ended up with the Lambretta name, so API was not able to use it for its own scooter models. Instead, their first model used the moniker, Lamby 150, as a twist on the name. 175cc version was also created titled the MAC 175, but it was short-lived.
By the 1980s the 150cc model was redesigned again and produced now as the Lamby Polo 150. It favored a sleeker look, trying to upscale from the Series 2 approach to the Indian version of a Series 3 model. Unfortunately, this model too was not well received by the Indian consumer. Eventually, the API manufacturing process for scooters also closed down and was finished in 2002.
The Indian company that would take on the Lambretta moniker was Automobile Products of India, otherwise known as API. API’s own rich history began in 1949 in what was then known as the British colonial city name of Bombay. Today renamed Mumbai, API started with the licensing and production capability for the second in the Lambretta model series of scooters and produced a 150cc engine model based on similar design.
GP 200, Blurbit, 2008.
However, it was Scooters India Limited that ended up with the Lambretta name, so API was not able to use it for its own scooter models. Instead, their first model used the moniker, Lamby 150, as a twist on the name. 175cc version was also created titled the MAC 175, but it was short-lived.
By the 1980s the 150cc model was redesigned again and produced now as the Lamby Polo 150. It favored a sleeker look, trying to upscale from the Series 2 approach to the Indian version of a Series 3 model. Unfortunately, this model too was not well received by the Indian consumer. Eventually, the API manufacturing process for scooters also closed down and was finished in 2002.
0 comments:
Post a Comment