Random "Car"of the Day: 1972 Lambretta Helicak.

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 04/14/2015 at 15:57 • Filed to: None

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In 1970's, President of Indonesia, Mayor Soeharto, said that if your motorized transport factory want to get some tax incentives, you should create a product that could be build in Indonesia using Indonesia's 1970's technology. One of the company who take the chance is Lambretta, an Italian scooter manufacturer., that tried to make some sort of three-wheeled "car".

Basically a Helicak it's a Lambretta scooter, but with extra cabin in the front, made out of fiberglass with cast iron frame and acrylic windows. The front cabin has a bench seats that seats two, and the driver drive it from the back. The Helicak is not a great success, only sold 400 units from 1972 to 1976, and nearly 90% of them were bought by Jakarta Transport Authority to use as a public transport, alongside the Daihatsu Midget .

In 1976, Lambretta decide to make a sucessor of the Helicak, called the Super Helicak. It's acutal car this time, has a 4-wheel and an engine and now driver drive it from inside the car. But there's very little known about this thing.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/14/2015 at 16:01

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Considering how scooter collectors are, for Lambretta especially, if you had one of those today, you could probably get a great deal of money for either of those.

thebigbossyboss > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/14/2015 at 16:03

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This was a good article. I love learning about crap like this.

Gary Yogurt > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/14/2015 at 16:03

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Thanks for introducing these to me, I will add them to my glorious mental coffee table book of amazing things.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > thebigbossyboss 04/14/2015 at 16:10

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Thank you!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 04/14/2015 at 16:14

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Well, i don't know if any of those survive the crusher..

505Turbeaux > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/14/2015 at 16:25

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are there any still around?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Gary Yogurt 04/14/2015 at 16:25

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Just add them!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > 505Turbeaux 04/14/2015 at 16:28

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Today? Not sure. But surely the old Mk.1 Helicak is ilegal on the Jakarta's Street, and i believe all the Mk.2 Helicak are gone, because it's so rare to find info about that thing.

But don't worry, you still can ride the Midget!

The Dunmurry Kid > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 01/12/2017 at 10:47

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Super Helicak was not a product from Lambretta, it was the result of a mid-1970s collaboration between PT Italindo, the Jakarta-based importer of Italian scooters and Reliant Motor Company of Tamworth, England, producers of the iconic Robin and Bond Bug three-wheelers.