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From La Dolce Vita to Quadrophenia, the Lambretta scooter is a suave two-wheeled icon of the silver screen. However, for a brief moment in the mid 1960s, it had a decidedly fuddy duddy moment, when it decided it could drive on water.
We're unsure how serious the 1964 Lambretta Amphi-Scooter was. Developed by Lambretta Concessionaires, based in Purley Way, Croydon, it was essentially a normal Lambretta J125, with fibreglass floats that folded down, turning it into a (just about) river-worthy vessel. As the jolly voiceover on a promotional video suggests, the scooter is old hat, unless you wanted to get out of the mainstream of thought, and adapt it to go on water.
That's precisely what the bowler-hatted Douglas Bedford does — picking up model Donna White en route, as he takes the contraption for a spin down the Thames, at "a leisurely pace". As the Lambretta putters its way past the Houses of Parliament, it looks less stable than Penny Mordaunt during that 'stand up and fight' tirade — although somehow remains afloat.
Well, it did that day, anyway. On a subsequent demo in Mallory Park in the Midlands, the scooter sank — along with any dreams of mass production. It was the only one ever made, that is, until a 50th anniversary replica of the kooky vehicle was announced earlier in 2023. Let's hope its owner keeps it well away from anything deeper than a puddle.
