1962 Lambretta Li150 Series 2 ‘Rallymaster’
‘The Cornish one’

Registration No: XRL 172A
Frame No: 150Li 941980
Engine No: 150Li 943295
CC: 150
MOT: Exempt

• Genuine Rallymaster, one of only 10 known to survive (source: British Lambretta Archive)
• Original British registration number
• Correct engine and frame numbers as from new
• Provenance correct with full known ownership history
• Over £4000 mechanical expenditure this year
• V5C for immediate use on the road

The Lambretta Li150 series 2 was launched in October 1959. Based on the successful Li Series 1, the obvious difference being the position of the headlight on the handlebars. It had an engine based on the Li150 Series 1, but with an increased stroke and several other small modifications all over the scooter that made it the best-selling Lambretta of all-time.

By December 1961, the Lambretta Series 3 was in first production in Italy, and it is widely known that Lambretta Concessionaires, as the largest importer, had prior knowledge of this long before then. As Lambretta Concessionaires had done with the last of the LDs in the last 1950s, it is clear that they were looking for innovative ways to clear the remaining Series 2 stock of machines. Enter the ‘Rallymaster’, a special edition model that embraced, and was designed to appeal to the growing trend of ordinary folk racing scooters on places like the Isle of Man. The scooter was a basic Series 2 with a turning front mudguard and matching horncast that were identical to and almost certainly acquired from Lambretta Locomociones S.A. in Spain. All of the conversion work was done at Lambretta Concessionaires’ Trojan works in Croydon. This also included the addition of a 4.00 x 10 rear tyre, front tyre mud scraper, dual seat, spare wheel, ball-end levers, Perspex windscreen, rally number plates, GB plate, a rear handle for scrambling and a special instrument board that incorporated a rev counter, stopwatch holder, illuminated map board and switch for a spot lamp. The engine was tuned and the carburettor was increased in size to a 21mm version, whilst the exhaust was a high-performance type and close ratio gears for off-road riding, and a front spotlight was added. The side panels were striped Black and have been seen with Red and Blue. Despite all of these positive enhancements and concessionaire marketing, this was a ‘tough baby’, the Rallymaster appears not to have sold well with a reported that only circa 100 sold on the market, and those only in the UK.

This ‘garage find’ original was discovered in a lock-up in Cornwall and created quite a stir in collectors’ circles when it was found. Known as ‘the Cornish one’ we can trace its ownership from the first owner up to the present day. The scooter was found with its Black and Red stripes painted-over, however, still visible under that paint. Many of the typical Rallymaster additions were unfortunately not with the scooter and it was missing its ‘dashboard’ but the obvious Rallymaster evidence was there, including fixing holes for the all of the factory additions. We can see evidence from pictures 15,16 and 17 when the scooter was discovered the Rallymaster fixing holes and even the bent ball end lever which is supplied with the scooter. There is also the testimony from original restorer Darren Ducros that the original striped paint was present under the over coat.'and original engine side casing with rev counter mechanism'

The date of first registration was the 16th of April 1962. In the original Li150 handbook that was found with the scooter is written 'W. Stephens' of an address in Truro. It then appears to have been owned by a Terence Bray also of Truro since 21st October, 1980 and was then registered to a Clive Powell from Cambourne in 1991, where we assume the ‘discovery’ pictures that can be seen on social media, are from. We then see the owner as Alistair Philpott, also of Cambourne, and it was he who commissioned the first restoration that was done by Darren Ducros, now of DL Scooters, approximately 20 years ago. At this time, the missing parts were sourced and replaced and it is a testament to the quality of the work that we have a very credible original Rallymaster.

The next owner from 2003 was a Patrick Piggott of Hastings, who the current owner purchased the scooter from last year. The modern V5C states 4 previous owners. In late 2021 Cambridge Lambretta were tasked by the current owner with a major mechanical overhaul of the scooter which included a full engine re-build using standard parts, save a GP road race crank and varitronic ignition for reliability, and a full comprehensive rebuild completed in early 2022 including new tyres to a cast of over £4,000 (Details of which can be seen on the Cambridge Lambretta media sites). A large number of the first original parts are also supplied with the scooter, including the original ball end levers and we can see one of these as bent in the original ‘barn find’ pictures, the original hub, brake shoes, piston, crank and rectifier.

This scooter captures and defines an important moment in the history of British Scootering. It is a very rare opportunity to acquire this ultra-rare and desirable model with so much corroborating and documentary history.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Diamond
info@vintagescooters.co.uk
07768 313001