Sold for £15,525
(including buyers premium)
Registration No: PKE 335F
Frame No: 125LIS 877264
Engine No: 125LIS 877392
CC: 200
MOT: Exempt
Rimini Lambretta Centre was formed in Italy in 1994 by British scooter enthusiast Dean Orton and Italian Lambretta genius Paolo Catani in 1995 then known as Adriatica Lambretta opened its first shop in a small seaside town just north of the city of Rimini. Quickly obtaining a reputation as a centre of excellence for quality Lambretta restorations the company moved into tuning, spare parts, and accessories for all models of Lambretta. With a professional team trained to apply fastidious attention to detail RLC has set the global bar for quality in the marque and is still an ever growing success today.
The Ancillotti Tribute Racer came to be as an idea by Paolo Catani partly it is said because RLC had collected many scarce Ancillotti parts to hand. The Ancillotti story is a fascinating tale of racing passion actually going back to 1938 when Gualtiero Ancillotti opened a workshop in Florence modifying and racing Harley Davidsons. His two sons Alberto and Piero who in their early years had been racing go karts supported by their engineer father joined the business around 1962. After experimenting with motorcycles and Rumi scooters amongst others the Ancillotti brothers specialised as far as scooters went with Lambretta performance customisation from 1962 and did not deviate to Vespas as their great rival Giancarlo Gori had done when Innocenti folded. They were still working on racing motorcycles alongside and won over 20 national and international racing events. They had many trademark signatures including specialised engines, racing seats and exhausts that many know their name from today. Kits were sold internationally including via Nannucci in the UK. At their height 1978-79 they were selling around 3000 specialised machines a year and had 45 people working for them but around 1986 closed down due to Japanese competition. It was folklore that the Ancillotti brothers were not known for throwing money around and their own motorcycle club had added a dollar sign to the Florence clubs logo in tribute to their most famous members.
The dollar sign is the first notable signature of this most splendid of machines. Completely Ancillotti style in the yellow colour that they used it is foremost the engine specification that needs to be mentioned plus the unique huge Jaeger rev counter another trademark Ancillotti feature and all on an original Florence Lambretta Special scooter - the birthplace of Ancillotti. The engine has full original Ancillotti 200cc kit: Dyke ring piston, barrel, 4 bolt fixing manifold and large bore exhaust. The seat is an original Ancillotti hand-made aluminium seat with pull-out cushion for fuel and it is this we are told that Giuliari used as the inspiration for their own reproduction version of the seat. A truly very rare accessory! When the scooter was completed it was signed by the Ancillotti brothers themselves one on each side panel with their definite signature of approval. The scooter was sold to a British collector Paul Cromwell who had seen it being created in 2007 and made sure it was going to be his. Our vendor, a perfectionist, bought it from Paul and commissioned British Lambretta performance guru Ron Moss to go over the motor. Ron was able to find out that one of the gudgeon pins had moved out of position and the piston had been scored. He was also able track down 2 exact Dyke ring original pistons by an incredible stroke of luck (the spare one is supplied with the lot) and he also sourced a period VHB 30mm carburettor. The result is we are told a smooth powerful reliable road scooter comparable to a GP200 in performance but with a pedigree of originality with so many original and rare performance parts within.
The fastidious attention to detail typically any Rimini built scooter is there for all to see all over this scooter. Anyone who has had a chance to see a Rimini scooter or has been to their fabulous workshop will know that they only use the finest original parts. Of note on this machine to retain the originality it is still on original 6v points and the ignition is of course original number 646 with the original key as all of the locks are original with original Grabor, OMR and GAMA keys. The speedometer is an original SX200 version. On close inspection they cables are all correctly done as original spec with all grease points restored correctly and cables tied with correct fixings. Every nut and bolt is original either NOS or refurbished. The scooter is also supplied with the original Spartan tyres that were favoured by Ancillotti. The scooter is also supplied with its original Firenze (Florence) Italian registration document and even its original Italian FI prefix number plate and is also registered as a 125 in the UK on the V5C. Full details of the project and the restoration are still available to view on the Rimini Lambretta Centre website and can also be found in Scootering magazine September 2008, a copy of which is also supplied with the scooter.
A Rimini special project restoration of this magnitude today would cost far in excess of the auction estimate. In addition there are the rare original Ancillotti parts that must make this a true one off. Perfectly set up by no other than the legendary Ron Moss this Rimini scooter is a unique opportunity.
For more information, please contact:
Paul Diamond
info@vintagescooters.co.uk
07768 313001
Auction: National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands, 27th Mar, 2024
An auction of classic motorcycles & vintage scooters taking place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull, West Midlands. Venue Details
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