Automobile Products of India (AUTOPRD) was founded in 1949. The company manufactured Lambretta scooters and ancillaries under licence but has not been operational since 2002.
AUTOPRD's registered offices were in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It also had facilities in Mumbai and Aurangabad in Maharashtra. [1]
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API was the first Indian scooter manufacturer. Scooters were initially assembled from Innocenti kits and sold under the Lambretta name. However, in the early 1960s API acquired the rights to produce the Li150 series 2 model. This was restyled with a smaller mudguard, smaller legshields, dual seats and press-on side panels.
In 1972 Scooters India Ltd acquired exclusive rights to the Lambretta name. API then sold its scooters under the MAC brand, M.A.C being the initials of its founder (Dr. Muthiah Annamalai Chidambaram). The MAC 175 came on to the market in the same year.
API started selling scooters under the Lamby name in 1977. The Lamby scooter was remodeled several times, the last of these being the Lamby Polo in 1986. This had sharp corners and edges, and looked sleeker than earlier models. Unfortunately it failed to sell and production ceased. [2]
The Lamby and MAC brands are virtually unknown outside India as API's licence prohibited them from selling Lambretta-derived scooters elsewhere. [3]
| 125 D | 125 LD | 150 Li | MAC 175 | Lamby 150 | Lamby Polo 125 | Lamby Polo 150 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Produced | 1955-1957 | 1955-1957 | 1962-1977 | 1972-1977 | 1977-1986 | 1986-1990 | 1986-1990 |
| Bore | 52 mm | 52 mm | 57 mm | 62 mm | 57 mm | 52 mm | 57 mm |
| Stroke | 58 mm | ||||||
| CC | 123 cc | 123 cc | 148 cc | 173 cc | 148 cc | 123 cc | 148 cc |
| Gears | 3 | 4 | |||||
| Top speed | 44 mph | 44 mph | 50 mph | 56 mph | 50 mph | 47 mph | 53 mph |
| Drive | Shaft | Chain | |||||