For Innocenti to retain its position as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of motor scooters, it needed to continually develop its Lambretta range. By the late 1960s, it was heavily reliant on the SX models, with most of the smaller-capacity J Range having been phased out. At the top of the range there was a replacement on the way in the shape of the GP, but the company was left with a gap where the J Range had once been. There was no doubt that models like the Cento and J125 had been a disappointment in terms of sales and had largely failed to capture the public imagination, certainly in the UK. By contrast Piaggio was doing well with sales of its smallframe models and Innocenti knew that any new design would need to offer something different if it was to secure a presence in the lucrative small-capacity market.
To the moon
In early 1968, Innocenti unveiled its new
