Itom Astor Competizione 1957

Printed on to a sheet of paper so thin it seems to be just one grade above tracing paper here is the brochure for the 1957 Itom Astor Competizione. The brochure screams out cheap but Itoms were a serious bit of kit back in the day. A top speed of 75 kph isn't exactly going to set the world on fire but it's pretty good for a 50cc machine from more than 60 years ago and they were very tuneable.

50cc racing was getting becoming popular in the mid to late fifties and Itoms were the weapon of choice for many clubmen. For the average Joe in the street road rider there wasn't much incentive to buy an expensive import when you could get a Brit machine of larger capacity for cheaper. And for this reason Itoms were always a rare sight in the UK.

Itom Astor 4 M

Here's the brochure / flyer for the Itom Astor 4M. A racy number and no doubt. Itoms were the tool of choice for the clubman 50cc racer through the 50s and 60s. Most of the Itoms raced started off as road going models, it took little to prepare them for the circuit as they were already powerful machines for their size and Itom offered several race kit options.

The Astor 4M was introduced in 1965 and continued through to '72. In standard trim it was good for just shy of 100km/h and pushed out nearly 6hp, more than the magic 100hp per litre. A four speed box allowed good use of what must have been a relatively narrow power band (it would scream up to 10,000rpm).