1976 Lamborghini Urraco P300

The Urraco would be among the most popular Lamborghini models of its era with 791 examples built from 1972 to 1979, surpassing the 764 examples of the 1966 to 1973 Miura. While the Miura and its successor, the Countach, would employ a V12 engine in a mid-engine configuration, the Urraco, Silhouette (and later, the Jalpa) would use an eight-cylinder, mid-mounted engine. Lamborghini's arsenal also contained the front-engined, V12-powered Jarama and Espada.

The Lamborghini Urraco was named after a line of Miura-bred fighting bulls, and its name translated to 'little bull.' Its 2+2 coupe body was designed by Marcello Gandini of Carrozzeria Bertone with a similar length and wheelbase as the Countach, but a narrower width.

Sixty-six examples (known as the P200) were equipped with a 1,994cc (2.0-liter) V8 engine with overhead camshafts and delivering 180 horsepower at 7,500 RPM, and 130 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 RPM. Zero-to-sixty mph was accomplished in 7.2 seconds and the top speed was 134 mph.

Most of the Urraco (520 examples known as the P250) employed a 2,463cc (2.5-liter) version of the engine that delivered 217 horsepower at 7,500 RPm and 162 lb-ft at 3,750 RPM. This more potent version gave the Urraco a zero-to-sixty mph time of 6.9 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph. Twenty-one examples were Urraco P111s (P250 Tipo 111s), built to comply with American regulations and equipped with larger front bumpers and emissions controls.

One hundred and ninety examples, known as the P300, used a 2,996cc, dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) V8 with 247 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque. Zero-to-sixty took 5.6 seconds and the top speed was 190 mph.

The Urraco was replaced by the mid-engine Lamborghini Silhouette P300 and used a 3.5-liter V8 engine based upon its predecessor. Production was much lower than the Urraco, with just 54 examples built from 1976 to 1979.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021