1972 Lamborghini Espada

The Lamborghini Espada was introduced to the world in 1968 and was intended to meet customer's desires for a four-seater in the lineup. Power was from a dual overhead cam 12-cylinder unit. The Espada would prove to be the most successful Lamborghini model at the time, selling 1,227 cars over its decade-long production run beginning in 1968.

The Genesis and Construction
The name 'Espada' translates as 'sword' in Spanish, depicting the sword of bullfighters (torero) used to kill the bull.

The Lamborghini Espada was based on the Marzal show car displayed at the 1967 Geneva Auto Show and the Bertone Pirana created for the 1967 London Motor Show at Earl's Court. The Pirana was a sleek 2-passenger GT car designed by Marcello Gandini while working at Bertone. The Marzal was also designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone with seating for four, glazed gull-wing doors, six narrow S.E.V. Marchal headlamps in the wedge-shaped nose, hexagonal motif throughout (including in the louvered rear window), and unique Campagnolo magnesium wheels. Fittingly, Gandini was tasked with designing the Espada. Along with a number of Lamborghini concept cars, Gandini's association with Lamborghini would include the Urraco and Countach, and he created the original design proposal for the Diablo.

The Espada was a true four-seat car that complemented the company's model lineup which included the 400 GT, Miura, and Islero. Both the Islero and the Espada were introduced in 1968 at the Geneva Motor Show. The Espada was elegant and sporty, with a wedge-shaped design that was both radical and practical. It was modern, youthful, and unique, with wide doors that accommodated easy ingress and egress to the spacious interior, and although it stood just 46.7 inches high, there was adequate headroom for both the front and rear passengers. The tail lights were from the first series Fiat 124 Sport Coupe.

The interior was spacious and luxurious, with a dashboard inspired by the Marzal concept car, featuring octagonal housings for the main instruments and an additional binnacle for the 'secondary' gauges.

Mechanical Specifications
Chassis Dimensions and Construction
The Lamborghini Espada had a 104.3-inch wheelbase, a length of 186.2 inches, a width of 73.2 inches, and a height of 46.7 inches. Twin fuel tanks carried 25 gallons (US) of fuel, and the two fuel fillers were concealed behind black cosmetic grilles in both C-pillars.

The semi-monocoque unibody chassis was a new design formed from square-section steel tubing and pressed sheet steel. Construction of the chassis was assigned to Marchesi of Modena, the firm that had previously constructed the Miura and Islero chassis. Upon competition of the chassis, they were shipped from Marchesi to Bertone where they received bodywork, paint and trim. The Lamborghini factory performed the final assembly.

Suspension, Brakes, Steering, and Tires
The fully independent suspension was sourced from the 400 GT 2+2 with coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, and unequal-length double wishbones. The steering was of worm-and-peg type manufactured by ZF and positioned at the top front of the chassis. Initially unassisted, the steering would gain power assistance with the introduction of the Series III Espada. The Girling disc brakes located behind all four wheels had three pistons, with the calipers at the front being larger than the ones used at the rear. The discs were solid on Series I cars; Series II and beyond had ventilated discs.

The Series I and Series II Espadas rode on Pirelli Cinturato 205VR15 (CN72) tires. Later examples used 215/70VR15 Cinturato (CN12) tires. The alloy wheels were constructed by Campagnolo on knock-off hubs, using the same design as the Miura.

Engine
The twelve-cylinder engine powering the Espada had a design that originated from the earliest Lamborghini vehicles. Designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, the Espada's engine remained the same as the unit powering the 400 GT 2+2. The pistons were made from aluminum, the crankcase from aluminum alloy, and the cylinder liners from cast iron. There were two valves per cylinder (24 in total) and two chain-driven overhead camshafts per bank. The cylinder bore measured 82 mm, the stroke at 62mm, and a total displacement of 3,929cc (240 cubic inches). The Series I engine had 9.5:1 compression; Series II and III engines had 10.7:1 compression.

The V12 engine had wet sump lubrication, a 3.7 (US) gallon oil capacity, a single distributor for ignition, and six Weber 40DCOE side-draft carburetors.

The Series I cars produced 325 horsepower at 7,200 RPM; the Series II and III cars delivered 350 horsepower at 7,500 RPM.

Transmission
Most of the Espadas were equipped with a Lamborghini-designed 5-speed manual transmission with a hydraulically operated clutch. The Series III Espada, beginning in 1974, could be ordered with a Chrysler TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission. Approximately 55 examples were fitted with the automatic.

Production

The total Espada production was 1,217 units.
-The Espada Series I was produced from 1968 to January 1970 with 186 examples created.
-The Espada Series II was produced from January 1970 to 1972 with 575 examples created.
-The Espada Series III was produced from 1972 to 1978 with around 456 units created.

The Lamborghini Espada Series II
Geneva had been the location for the unveiling of the Series I Espada. For the unveiling of the Series II, Lamborghini chose the 1970 Brussels Motor Show. Performance enthusiasts were eager to learn that the Series II had a boost in horsepower to 350 hp thanks to the higher 10.7:1 compression ratio. The previous solid discs were replaced by vented Girling discs, and the CV joints were now used on the rear half-shafts. Power steering was now optional.

The only visual external styling changes was the removal of the grille covering the vertical glass tail panel.

While the outside of the car was only minorly revised, the interior was given much more attention, with a wood-trimmed fascia now extending the entire width of the dashboard. The instrument binnacle was of a more rectangular shape, with round gauges. The rear seats had better ventilation, and the center armrest was different than the Series I cars.

Some of the final Series II cars were given newly designed wheels on five-stud hubs.

The Lamborghini Espada Series III
The Series III was introduced in 1972, and minor updates to the mechanical specification and slight revisions to the styling and interior were made. The engine was the same as in the Series II, and the spring and shock absorber tuning was slightly altered. Air conditioning and power steering by ZF were now standard equipment. A 3-speed Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic transmission was optional as was a sunroof.

The interior was given a redesigned aluminum-trimmed instrument panel.

The wheels fitted to the final Series II Espadas carried over to the Series II cars and were wrapped with wider Pirelli Cinturato 215/70WR15 CN12 tires. The previous hexagonal mesh-designed front grille now had a square design. In the back, the taillights were sourced from the Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina.

From 1975, the Espadas destined for the U.S. market were given large impact bumpers to comply with safety requirements. Additional updates fitted to satisfy U.S. emissions requirements included a secondary air injection pump and special tuning of carburetors and the ignition system.

The Lamborghini Espada
The Espada was equipped with the same V-12 engine that was found in the Miura or Countach but was devoid of the outrageous design and fitted with loads of practicality. It was a true grand touring automobile with versatility, luxury, power, panache, and with seating for four.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2019