We travel back to an era when a tractor manufacturer challenged the might of Ferrari — and look at the history behind Lamborghini’s first road cars.

There are at least two apocryphal stories as to why Ferrucio Lamborghini, a wealthy tractor manufacturer, decided to build high performance gran turismo cars — both stories include a Ferrari 250GT. The first says that Lamborghini dropped by the Ferrari factory and asked for an audience with Enzo Ferrari to complain about the clutch in his Ferrari 250GT; the other story says that Lamborghini wanted to discuss purchasing a 250GT with Il Commendatore. Both stories end in Lamborghini being rebuffed. They’re both good tales but the truth, as told by Ferrucio himself, is that having owned several Ferrari and Maserati road cars, Lamborghini felt that their detailing left something to be desired. The solution to his problem was simple — he would design and build his own GT car.

This seems altogether more probable as Ferrari, irascible as he was made out to be, built road cars to finance ¨his racing, and is unlikely to have rebuffed a potentially lucrative client.

Either way, Ferrucio was certain there were enough clients who had the same values he did, and set out to provide an alternative. Automobili Lamborghini SpA was founded in early 1963 when Ferrucio bought a 90,000 square metre site at Sant Agata near Bologna, where a very modern factory was erected in only eight months.

Scaglione, Bizzarrini and Dallara

Not a group of operatic singers to rival The Three Tenors, but the three men responsible for the very first Lamborghini road car — the 350GT. By meshing the abilities of these three great artisans into one unit, and providing the oil to encourage them to perform at their best, Lamborghini had started something special.

During his time with Bertone, Franco Scaglione had, most famously, been the man behind the futuristic BAT concept cars notable for their wild, furled wings. By the time Ferrucio Lamborghini contacted him to design his road car, Scaglione was a freelance designer, but his styling senses retained a real sense of drama. Scaglione’s final design was for a lithe coupe featuring a massively deep rear window and a low, chiselled nose complete with pop-up headlights.

Matching Scaglione’s dramatic styling was Giotto Bizzarrini’s specially commissioned V12 engine. Bizzarrini had previously worked for Ferrari, where he assisted with the development of the 250 Testa Rossa and took sole responsibility for the 250GT short-wheelbase and 250GTO competition cars. Bizzarrini left Ferrari in 1962 to pursue an independent career — which would include cars such as the ASA 1000GT, Iso-Grifo and Rivolta and, of course, the Bizzarrini GT Strada.

For Lamborghini, Bizzarrini took only four months to design and develop an all-aluminium V12 — complete with duplex roller-chain driven twin overhead camshafts per bank of cylinders, and a battery of six downdraught twin-choke Weber carburettors. Lamborghini had asked for 261kW (350bhp) and Bizzarrini’s V12 easily developed that kind of power.

The next cog would be Gian Paulo Dallara, an engineer lured from Ferrari by the promise that he would become Lamborghini’s chief engineer — a remarkable achievement when you consider that Dallara was, at that time, still only in his 20s.

His job would be to design a chassis that combined the efforts of Scaglione and Bizzarrini into an effective GT car — this being achieved with a steel, box-frame chassis, independent suspension all-round by wishbones, disc brakes, a ZF five-speed gearbox and a Salisbury LSD. The finished car would be known at the 350GT — derived from its power output; 350bhp. Although, in truth, in order to make the 350GT more drivable, early engine power was restricted to 209kW (280bhp), raising to 239kW (320bhp) for later cars.

The finished prototype was the star of the 1963 Turin motor show, where it was displayed alongside a bare chassis into which had been mounted the first of Bizzarrini’s V12 engines. However, it was a bit of sham — the engine bay of the car did not contain an engine, just a box of ceramic tiles; the new V12 was too tall for the 350GT’s engine bay!

Dallara solved this problem by the simple expedient of replacing the down-draught Webers with side-suckers. Other, more serious changes would come as the 350GT was readied for series production.

Touring Superleggera

Lamborghini’s design brief called for aluminium bodywork, and the prototype car was built by Sargiotto. However, Carrozzeria Touring was entrusted with building the production bodies using its Superleggera construction — aluminium panels laid over a steel-tube frame. Scaglione’s rear treatment came through the process virtually untouched, although the prototype’s chrome side strake disappeared, as did the pop-up headlamps as Touring grafted on a blunter, bug-eyed nose.

The first Touring-bodied 350GT appeared at the 1964 Geneva motor show, but full production would be slow, with only a handful of cars being built and sold in the first year.

What Lamborghini didn’t know was that Touring was on the slippery slope to oblivion and, just as 350GT production began, the coach-building firm went into state receivership. Touring finally closed its doors in 1967, and subsequent 350GTs (and the later 400GT) would be built by Mario Marazzi, an ex Touring employee. None of these problems handicapped the 350GT, and it was soon being widely praised for its wonderfully neutral handling and its superb, suitably bullish-sounding V12 engine. In its day, the 350GT was favourably compared to the Ferrari 275GTB — with many contemporary road-testers noting that the Lamborghini was by far the most civilised of the two, an amazing achievement for a first-time car manufacturer. Perhaps even more amazingly, over 40 years later Bizzarrini’s original V12 can still to be found — in suitably developed form — in the current Murcielago.

Developments

After 50 cars had been built, Lamborghini ditched the British-made Salisbury rear axle as being too noisy. Later cars would feature a Lamborghini-designed rear axle. A competition version of the 350GT was also mooted, planned to use a lighter, round-section tubular chassis and the full 261kW V12. However, this would never happen — indeed, Ferrucio Lamborghini was no fan of building racing cars. That would be the main reason why Dallara would eventually part company with Lamborghini, subsequently setting up his own very successful racing car design company.

In 1965 Zagato essayed two 350GTZ cars, which featured a sharply cut-off Kamm-tail and a lower nose with faired-in headlights. One GTZ was destroyed in an accident; the other survives to the present day in the US. Touring also built two special-bodied convertible 350GTs but, as Lamborghini was reputedly losing money on each car sold, there was never enough cash to put the drop-top model into production.

The 400GT

In 1965 the 350GT was offered with an enlarged version of the V12 — at 3929cc — effectively becoming the 400GT. As an indicator of what the future held, only three of the 23 3.9-litre cars featured aluminium bodywork, the majority being steel-bodied.

Lamborghini’s next step became apparent at the 1965 Geneva motor show when it put the first 400 GT 2+2 on its stand. Although the same length as the standard GT, the 2+2 had been subtly redesigned with a higher roofline, smaller rear window and larger boot-lid. Allied to revised rear suspension and a lowered rear floor-pan, these changes allowed Lamborghini to place two rear seats in place of the luggage platform of the GT.

The bodywork was now in steel (apart from an aluminium bonnet and boot lid) — with a resulting increase in weight — and, for the first time, the driveline would be pure Lamborghini; the original ZF ’box being replaced by a Lamborghini-designed unit. The most distinctive outward change would be the inclusion of quad headlights — a handful of final 350GTs were fitted with this arrangement before the model was phased out in 1967, after 120 350GTs had been built.

The 400GT 2+2 became Lamborghini’s mainstay model (although five two-seater 400GTs were also built). Virtually all 400GT 2+2s were LHD, and it’s believed only five RHD models were produced by the factory. In Spring 1968, after 400GT 2+2 production reached 242 units, a new model — the Islero — was brought in to replace it.

The Kiwi and the Bull

There’s a bit of New Zealand in every 400GT, but not many 400GTs in New Zealand. It stems from the involvement of Kiwi Bob Wallace in the development and engineering. An Aucklander, Wallace was born in 1938. He was one of the original hot rodders in Auckland. Ray Stone had a garage in Alfriston, and remembers Bob driving around in his superbly built hot rod to visit the workshop to admire the P3 Alfa, or whatever exotic machinery was in there for fettling. He became part of the crowd, and whilst admiring the Italian machinery would often say, “I’d love to go to Italy!” — but then they all said that. In the end, only Bob made it, and he stayed there for many years. Bob was Johnny Mansel’s mechanic in 1962, when Mansel was chosen to drive the Italian team Scuderia Centro Sud’s second Cooper Maserati in the Tasman Series.

Bob quickly made a lot of friends among the Italians and also worked for Maserati and Camoradi, an American racing team based in Italy.

When Bob visited the Lamborghini factory in 1963, he already knew Gian Paolo Dallara from his time at Maserati. Dallara talked Wallace into staying with Lamborghini. The 350 and 400GTs would be the first cars Bob worked on, his expertise being development and testing. He earned the respect of Ferrucio Lamborghini, and went on to be the key development engineer on the legendary Miura. Bob also built the most collectible Lamborghinis himself, tweaked up for very fast road and competition work. These were simply known as the Jarama ‘Bob’ and the Islero ‘Wallace.’

Wallace left the Italian concern in 1973 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he opened a very exclusive business specialising in Italian cars.

Provenance

The interesting thing about our featured 400GT 2+2 is that it was first registered in New Zealand to Dorothy Mary Wallace, on June 9, 1969, suggesting that it indeed has an interesting link to the factory. Only 222 400GT 2+2s were made, of which only five were RHD. Regardless of the Wallace connection, this is one of only five cars like it in the world, and who knows if the other four cars have survived?

This Lamborghini has been in the hands of legendary Kiwi racing driver Ken Smith for many years, but was recently passed on to Paul Halford — who entrusted Gavin and Myles Hicks with the task of returning it to roadworthy condition after its lengthy stay in storage. Nearly all the paint and trim on the car is original, and it has still only covered 32,000km! This Lamborghini is like a time capsule.

Owning a Ferrari 275GTB/4 of similar vintage, Paul is in a reasonable position to make a comparison. So, how did Lamborghini make out on its second attempt to build a better Ferrari? Paul says the 400 is much more of a GT, where the Ferrari is more of a sports car — but he reckons that both have a fabulous identity all their own. The Lamborghini certainly sounds the part, and looks to have been very well built.

Those looks are the key to this car. Whilst contemporary Ferraris were more traditional and elegant, the Lamborghini is stunning and elaborate — it is certainly no wallflower.

With a Ferrari one tends to dwell on the overall shape, whereas with this car there are sweeps and compound curves going everywhere, mixed with the odd straight line. Your eyes dart all over it, seemingly finding a new theme wherever you look — even down to the interior door handles. One has the feeling that it would have looked like the car of the future when it first appeared in the late ’60s — something from The Jetsons.
It is certainly a bold piece of design worthy of any Auto Salon, and its beauty is more than skin deep. Lifting the bonnet gives more of a thrill than you’d get lifting the lid on modern supercar — the quad-cam V12 looking powerfully purposeful, filling every inch of engine bay space. Once fired up, the wonderful sounds produced by the Lamborghini V12 are of the hair-raising variety. Blip the throttle and you add to the orchestra as the throats on six twin-choke Webers crack open to inhale mighty gusts of air. Gorgeous!

When someone refers to a car lacking a sense of occasion, this car is the antonym. Rarely would a car give the owner the sense of occasion offered by this Lamborghini.

Lamborghini 400gt 2+2 (1966-1968) – Specifications

Engine All-alloy 60-degree V12
Capacity 3929cc
Bore/stroke 82mm x 62mm
Valves dohc per bank
C/R 9.5:1
Fuel system Six Weber 40DCO
Max power 268kW (360bhp) at 6500rpm
Max torque 393Nm at 5000rpm
Axle Ratio 4.08:1 (opt: 3.77:1 and 4.27:1)
Steering Worm-and-cam
Body Glass-fibre body bolted onto central backbone
Suspension Front Independent by unequal length wishbones and coil springs  Rear anti-roll bar
Brakes Disc/Disc
Wheels/Tyres Centre-lock wire/ Pirelli 210×15

Dimensions

Length/Width 4640mm/ 1730mm
Height/ Wheelbase 1285mm/ 2550mm
Track F/R 1380/1380mm
Kerb weight 1451kg

Performance

Max speed 251kph (156mph)
0-60mph/ 0-100mph 7.5secs/ 17.8secs

Production

1966-1968 247

Words: Allan Walton & Tim Nevinson Photos: Quinn Hamill

At the recent Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini surprised everyone by unveiling the four-seater¨Estoque — almost exactly 40 years after it introduced the Espada, its first four-seater GT

Fresh from the astonishing debut of the Miura in 1966, Ferruccio Lamborghini gave permission for his talented team to work up a genuine four-seater car.
Ferruccio’s brief was simple and to the point — “I want to build the Italian Rolls-Royce!”

In order to achieve his boss’ wish, Giampaulo Dallara, Lamborghini’s head engineer, started with a long wheelbase version of the Miura’s steel platform chassis. Dallara initially planned a mid-engined car — which would give him luggage space both front and rear — although mounting the Lamborghini V12 engine transversely, as in the Miura, was not an option as the engine was too large. Apparently rejecting a front engine placement, Dallara’s solution was to hack the Miura’s V12 in half to produce a 1964.5cc slant-six. This engine, he reasoned, could then be hung over the new car’s rear axle line. Dallara’s concept allowed the resulting car to be relatively compact, provided a four-seat cabin and ample luggage space.

With the engineering underpinnings resolved, Bertone’s Marcello Gandini — still in cloud cuckoo land after the praise heaped on him for penning the Miura’s beautiful body — was commissioned to fashion a body for the concept car. The final result, christened the Marzal, featured glassed-in gullwing doors, a glass roof and extensive use of hexagons as a styling device. If Gandini thought he had been successful in styling the Marzal, apparently Ferruccio Lamborghini did not — his main objections being based on the car’s glass-sided doors which, quite literally, would put drivers and passengers immodestly on view.

Despite his opinion of the Marzal, Lamborghini allowed the car to be paraded around the motor show circuit — a high point being when HRH Prince Rainier, accompanied by Princess Grace, used the Marzal to officially close the circuit for the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. Oddly enough, despite his objections to the Marzal’s styling, the one-off concept car eventually found a place in Ferruccio’s private collection after he left the company he had originally founded.

The Jaguar Connection

With his design for the Marzal firmly rejected, Gandini was ordered to go back to his drawing board and come up with something more pleasing. While he was thinking about that problem, another commission came through the doors at Bertone. London’s Daily Telegraph wanted a special publicity car to promote its new weekend magazine, and was looking for a dramatic restyling of the dumpy, unloved Jaguar E-Type 2+2. Gandini got the job and came up with the Pirana, a sexy two-door coupe that bore more than a passing resemblance to the Marzal — although fitted with conventional rather than gullwing doors. The rebodied Jaguar was subsequently displayed at the 1967 London Motor Show.

Gandini now melded together his designs for the Marzal and the Pirana and came up with a dramatic, but much more conventional, four-seater GT design. Indeed, the connection between the two cars was so complete that the body buck built for the Pirana was pressed into service to form the proposed new Lamborghini. With a few minor design changes, Gandini’s second effort met the approval of Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Following on from the Pirana, Dallara tossed out his idea for a rear or midships-mounted engine (the slant-six idea was also ditched — 130kW (175bhp) was simply not enough power for a ‘proper’ Lamborghini) and the familiar 3.9-litre V12 was slotted longitudinally into the car’s nose.

Resplendent in a coat of metallic gold paint, the new Lamborghini, christened the Espada — named after a matador’s sword — was publicly unveiled at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show, where it attracted almost as much admiration as the Miura had received upon its debut.

The Espada would go on to become, at the time, Lamborghini’s numerically most successful car with 1217 examples built between 1968 and 1978. Many detail changes were made to the Espada during its long production run (see Espada Evolution) as Lamborghini continually updated its best-seller. Many believe that with further development the Espada could have remained in production even longer, but in 1978 outside influences scuppered Lamborghini’s four-seater supercar.

Although sales had tapered off by 1978, the main reason behind the Espada’s demise was not related to the car itself but to Lamborghini’s overall position.

Lamborghini’s founder had already parted ways and the Italian courts had take over the cash-strapped company. With little money to pay creditors, outside suppliers had to be cut down to a minimum. The Espada — its Bertone-built bodywork mounted atop Lamborghini-supplied chassis at Grugliasco near Turin — would be the first casualty. For Lamborghini it made much more sense to concentrate on the Countach — with a body built in-house — than to rack up further expenses with an outside body-builder. As a result, the Espada was probably killed off before its time.

However, the concept of a four-seater Lamborghini would surface again in 1987 after Chrysler acquired the still ailing Italian company. The previous year Chrysler stylist, Kevin Verduyn, had come up with a interesting design proposal he had dubbed the Navajo. At the time, Verduyn’s proposal had attracted little interest but, with Chrysler’s buy-out of Lamborghini, the year-old design was dusted off.

With further refinement, a running steel and plastic Navajo — now sitting atop a lengthened Lamborghini Jalpa chassis — was built up by Coggiola of Turin. Renamed the Portofino, the revised concept car featured four, scissor-type doors redolent of the Countach, and seated four adults. Interestingly, the Portofino featured a revised Lamborghini badge, depicting the traditional bull penned in by Chrysler’s pentastar — a logo that would, like the Portofino, remain a one-off.

It appeared that the idea of a four-seat Lamborghini died with the Portofino but then, earlier this year, Lamborghini unveiled the Estoque — a four-seat supercar powered by Lamborghini’s existing V10 engine. As a fitting salute to the classic Espada, the Estoque name is derived from the 89cm sword used by matadors too.

The wheel, it seems, has come full circle.

On the Road

Climb into the driver’s seat of the Espada’s leather-lined cockpit and the first thing you’ll notice is that the passenger’s door seems a long way away — this is a wide car even by modern standards. Ahead of you, the Espada’s instrument panel is awash with gauges and rocker switches, all set within a brushed aluminium panel. It doesn’t exhibit particularly good ergonomics — the radio is mounted just above your right knee — but the main instruments are clearly visible through the three-spoked steering wheel. Thankfully, our featured Espada doesn’t come with the earlier, bizarre dashboard left over from Gandini’s hexagon fetish.
When you twist the ignition key it’s not really a question of simply starting the V12 — it’s much more like awakening a savage beast. To be sure, in the Espada the V12 feels rather more civilised than it does in the Miura, but the animal sense remains as the engine settles down at idling speed — all gnashing teeth and swishing chains.

As you pull away, you quickly note the lengthy accelerator travel — it seems to go down infinitely and, once at speed, there’s a discernible point in the accelerator pedal’s travel when the second stage of the Webers come on song. Press the pedal beyond that point and the wail of the V12 will raise the hairs on your head and send a wave of goose pimples down your arms — it really does sound than good.

Any initial trepidation about lunging such as wide car down narrow Kiwi roads soon disappears, and the Espada proves itself to be surprisingly nimble. Ambling along, it displays a tendency towards mild understeer, making for fail-safe handling at moderate speeds. As the pace increases, like many ’70s supercars, the Espada is let down by its tall 70-profile tyres — which allow it to fidget around at high speeds as it displays a certain amount of nervousness.

However, the tyres still have loads of grip so cornering is precise and tidy. Up the ante and the Espada’s handling characteristics begin the change. If you ease off the gas as you boot the Lamborghini hard into a corner you can feel the beginnings of oversteer as the tail begins to slide outwards. This movement is easily predictable, allowing you to control the outwards drift directly from the accelerator.

Try even harder and the Espada’s owner tells me you can hold a full-blooded power-slide as you exit a corner. I deferred to him on that point, not being willing to try that manoeuvre out for myself!

In short, the Espada is rather more than the sum of its parts — it can be pressed into service as a comfortable long distance tourer for four, yet it is equally at home in the role of a genuine sports car when driven by a skilled and enthusiastic driver. With that in mind, even after only a short drive, it was easy to see the appeal of the Espada — in its day it was totally unique and, Estoque not withstanding, we’ll probably never see its like ever again.

Kiwi Espada

Our featured Espada — an early Series 3 model — was imported into New Zealand from the UK in late 1974, and first registered here in January 1975 with only a minimal distance on the clock. Over the ’80s the car had a succession of owners and, at some point, it appears the Espada was raced at club events. Although it spent most of this time resident in the North Island, it also did a stint in the South Island.

History is a little sketchy on these early owners, but the sixth owner, a Wellington-based entrepreneur, would eventually lose ownership of the Espada to a finance company after overstretching himself during the economic woes of the late ’80s — the Lamborghini being taken as security on an unpaid debt. During this period, it appears that it was raced at club events — which resulted in some damage.

By 1994, the car was in the hands of a new owner, who commissioned Wellington continental car expert mechanic and restorer, Tony Hall of Eurotec, to undertake a comprehensive bare metal restoration. Prior to this, the Lamborghini’s V12 engine was totally rebuilt, with the restoration project beginning in earnest the following year. The car’s body and frame were taken right back to bare metal and, using laser technology via the local polytechnic, all vital measurements were verified in order to maintain the car’s original integrity. The two-year restoration, as well as a complete repaint, also included a full interior retrim and mechanical rebuilds of the gearbox and suspension.
When the Lamborghini eventually re-emerged from Eurotec, it was close to perfect — however, it remained unused as the owner relocated to Novia Scotia, Canada.

It was at this stage that the eighth and current owner, Mike Lowe, became aware of the car, and he purchased it in 2007. Since then, Mike has completely overhauled the Espada’s braking system, and the car’s odometer still only shows 23,000 miles (37,015km).

Mike and his Espada

Mike is probably best known to NZCC readers for his Targa exploits in a tiny Fiat Abarth Berlina Corsa and, over the years, it has always been a source of wonderment that he is able to fold up his 1.8-metre-plus frame into the miniscule Italian car.

Less well known is Mike’s abiding passion for all Italian cars — he has been restoring a Fiat Dino Spyder for as long as we care to remember — and even his son, Scott, has caught the Italian bug from his father and drives a restored Fiat 124 coupe.

In order to get to our photo shoot, Mike elected to drive the Espada up from his Rotorua home to Auckland — he had briefly pondered trailering it up, but the opportunity to drive the Lamborghini proved too much of a temptation.

“I really enjoyed the drive up to Auckland,” Mike said. “Unlike others who own exotic cars, mine do get used — yes, even in pouring rain! The highlight of the trip home was passing a group of trucks in third gear at 7500rpm. The noise — oh my goodness, the noise! Just like three Abarths — which I guess it is! I can only imagine how these cars must have felt back in 1968 when they were first released to an unsuspecting public — a true supercar to be sure.”

Mike was clearly getting into his stride as he described the trip from Rotorua to Auckland.

“Driving the Espada is a fabulous experience. Only the tyres (tall 70-profile rubber) give the game away with a nervous disposition at speed. The rest of the car handles as if it’s on rails, and it is rock steady over our roads. The power and smooth torque of the V12 makes gear changes somewhat redundant if you are in cruise mode — but if you want some fun, just change down to third! And the best part is that you can take three friends and all their luggage with you — unlike today’s pretend four-seater supercars.

“However, the most amazing part of driving this car is the looks it gets. No-one under the age of 40 knows what it is, and to see such a low, wide car in these days of pedestrian safety (high bonnets, airbags and thick pillars), the Espada has a style that we’ll probably never see again.”

Currently, there are six Lamborghini Espadas in New Zealand, although only three are registered and on the road. Arguably, Mike’s example is one of the best, if not the best, low mileage Espada anywhere in the world — and it’s for sale.

Yes, sadly Mike is prepared to part with his Espada — especially as he only recently bought himself a new toy. Italian, of course — to be precise, the gorgeous giallo fly Ferrari 308GTB featured in our November 2007 edition.

So, if you’re interested in owning a genuine four-seater supercar, and can’t quite run to a brand new Estoque (if, indeed, it ever becomes a production reality) check the cars for sale pages in the January edition of NZCC.

Words Allan Walton, Photos by Dan Wakelin

1974 Lamborghini Espada

Engine: All-alloy 60-degree V12
Capacity: 3929cc
Bore/ stroke: 82 x 62mm
Comp ratio: 9.5:1
Valves: dohc per bank
Max power: 261kW (350bhp) at 6500rpm
Max torque: 391Nm (289lb/ft) at 5500rpm
Fuel system: Six Weber twin choke 40DCOE 20
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Suspension (F/R): ¨Independent by coil springs and unequal length wishbones, combined spring/damper units, anti-roll bar
Steering: Worm and cam, PAS
Brakes: Disc/disc

Dimensions:

Wheelbase: 2600mm
Overall length: 4670mm
Width: 1820mm
Height: 1190mm
Track F/R: 1490mm
Weight: 1480kg

Performance:

Top Speed: 254kph (158mph)
0-60mph: 6.5 seconds
0-100mph: 15.8seconds
Production: 1968-’78    1217

Delving into the Espada’s PartsBin

Like many exotic Italian cars of the ’60s and ’70s, many of the Espda’s parts were sourced from rather less exotic vehicles.

As an example, the Espada uses Fiat 125 door handles, Fiat 124 bonnet catches, head-lights, horn and glovebox locks. The car’s seats, door panels, switch gear and window winder motors all come from the Fiat Dino; while the windscreen wipers were sourced from the Fiat 130. Fiat Crusader brake and clutch reservoirs are fitted, and Alfa Romeo supplied the Espada’s front indicators, taillights and rear hatch release.

Espada Evolution

1968: Espada 400GT unveiled to the public at Geneva Motor Show in spring, with first production cars available by late summer.

1969: Early production changes included a modified floorpan for increased rear head-room, opening front quarter-lights became fixed, grille below rear screen deleted.

1970: Espada 400GTE (effectively a Series 2 model) appeared at Brussels Motor Show. Changes included revised instrument panel, improved rear ventilation and a new, illuminated centre arm rest. Technical improvements included ventilated disc brakes all round to replace original solid rotors, Lobro CV joints for new half-shafts and optional power steering. High compression Islero/ Miura S V12 adopted, with 19kW (25bhp) increase in power to 261kW (350bhp). A later running change saw the original Miura-style centre-lock alloy wheels replaced by more subtle five-bolt rims.

1973: Revised Espada (retrospectively called Series 3) debuted at the 1973 Turin Motor Show. This version identifiable via mildly restyled nose and tail-lamps. Improved ZF power steering and air conditioning now standard fitment while a sunroof became an optional extra. Spring and shock rates altered, and rear suspension arms lengthened. Upgraded brakes also fitted as was restyled instrument panel. Automatic transmission (Chrysler’s three-speed TorqueFlite) became available from March 1974. ¨US versions with desmogged engines became available, complete with ugly ‘safety’ bumpers. These bumpers standardised on European Espada from 1976.

1978: Espada production discontinued.
Words: Allan Walton Photos: Dan Wakelin

Purely as a design exercise, aimed at keeping demand for Lamborghini’s Miura on the crest of a wave, Nuccio Bertone assigned Marcello Gandini a styling project to create a Spyder version of the Miura, commencing in the second half of 1967.

The ‘Lamborghini Bertone Miura Roadster,’ as it was officially christened, was finished in a light metallic blue with an off-white leather interior with red carpeting. The dashboard and steering remained black, and the steering wheel itself was the original avant-garde unit that was also used on the Marzal. This Miura carried chassis number 3498 (which, in accordance with its one-off prototype status, is not even listed in the factory’s original production chassis number register), and P400 engine number 1642 was fitted.

For the January 1968 Salon de L’Automobile Bruxelles, Bertone pulled off another masterstroke when he unveiled this Miura Spyder to a gob-smacked Ferruccio Lamborghini, who, we are told, only saw the show car for the first time at the preview the day before. However, Bertone told Lamborghini to put any ideas of production right out of his mind:  “We couldn’t make this car for production because there were untold problems with stress-tolerance issues involving the chassis and the windscreen. It’s purpose was simply that of a showcar,” Bertone confided to a GM stylist years later.

With its Bertone publicity duties completed, the Spyder was sent to Sant’Agata  (where it was famously photographed by both Zagari and Coltrin, and it was fettled by the service department with the idea of making it roadworthy to sell as an expensive one-off.

In 1968, International Lead and Zinc Research Organisation (ILZRO) CEO, the late Shrade Radtke, was looking for something radical to showcase the zinc alloys, coating and plating systems the company promoted for the major manufacturers in the Detroit area. It was decided to purchase a standard production Lamborghini Miura Berlinetta and have it specially built using zinc-based components and trim wherever possible.

Onwards then to Sant’Agata, and a meeting with Paolo Stanzani. However, Stanzani was against the idea of modifying a production Miura, and came up with the convenient solution of offering the one-off Miura Roadster, at the time at Sant’Agata for fettling. The offer was accepted on the spot.

In May of 1969, the “ZN75″ was completed, now adorned with much extra brightwork and painted metalic green, and Bertone arranged for a private showing at a villa in Turin, attended by the hierachy of the Italian automotive industry. It was a special day, and Bertone, was proudly pictured with the car on that occasion.

There followed a globe-trotting schedule of International Motor Shows -
August 1969 — Shown in Detroit, Michigan
October 1969 — Shown in Montreal, Canada
November 1969 — Shown in Anaheim, California
January 1970 — Shown in Detroit, Michigan
January 1970 — Shown in Montreal, Canada
February 1970 — Shown in London, England and featured on BBC TV
April 1970 — Shown in Palmerton, Pennsylvania
July 1970 — Shown in Tokyo, Japan
August 1970 — Shown in Sydney, Australia
November 1970 — Shown in Paris, France

After a final showing at the 1978 Detroit Motor Show, in February of 1981, Radtke donated the car to the Boston Museum of Transportation for an estimated $200,000 tax deduction. In the mid-1980s, it was refurbished and its interior upholstery replaced.

In 1989, it was purchased by the Portman group, and has spent its life since then shuttling from auction house to temporary owner, likely because its full history and significance is unknown by most. Auctioned off soon thereafter, it spent a number of years in Japanese collection. In 2002 it returned to the USA for a brief sojourn, before finding another home with a Ferrari collector in France.

In December 2006, the priceless Miura Roadster was finally purchased by a New York property developer who, at huge cost, has had the car returned to its original 1968 Salon de L’Automobile Bruxelles specification. The conversion, by the Bobileff Motorcar Company, was completed in late August 2008.