1970 Lamborghini Urraco P250

The Lamborghini Urraco was made from 1972 through 1976. Bertone had been tasked by Lamborghini to create a small, mid-engined car. The name 'Urraco' was given, meaning 'little bull'. Two running prototypes, both similar in design, were created. The first prototype had pop-up headlights while the second used a built-in headlight configuration design. Other items distinguished the two such as the use of a rear spoiler and a front-hood air extractor on the pop-up headlight prototype. Ferruccio Lamborghini was not satisfied and tasked Bertone to create a third prototype. Bertone's Marcello Gandini produced the third and final prototype which eventually evolved into the P250 Urraco production vehicle. This version was similar to its predecessors except for minor aesthetic changes such as moving the pop-up headlights further forward. Once the design was approved, three preproduction prototypes were developed for further development. The 'B' pillars on the production vehicles had a sixty-degree slant where-as the prototypes were angled at forty-five degrees. The production vehicles had 15 hole Campagnolo wheels while the prototypes had 20-hole Campagnolo wheels.
One of the preproduction prototypes was destroyed in crash testing. One was used in promotional literature.

The Urraco was debuted to the public at the 1970 Turin Auto Show. Lamborghini's goal for the vehicle was to create an affordable, high production, entry-level, and exotic automobile.

The P250's were powered by a eight-cylinder engine in 'vee' configuration capable of producing 220 horsepower. The engine had been designed by Paolo Stanzini. It was placed ahead of the rear wheels, mounted transversely, and sat beside the transmission. A five-speed all-syncromesh gearbox was standard. At their initial offering, the cost of owning a P250 would set the buyer back $22,500 American dollars. During its production run, 520 examples were produced.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2005