1973 Lamborghini Espada 400 GT

The Lamborghini marque was birthed with the purpose of building a refined grand touring car to compete with the finest automobiles on the market, including Ferrari. Ferruccio Lamborghini's first production car, the Touring-styled 350 GT, was introduced in 1964 at the Geneva Motor Show. It was the work of two illustrious automobile engineers and equipped with a 3.5-liter, four-cam V12 engine designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, placed in a chassis penned by Gianpaolo Dallara. The four camshaft engine and all-independent suspension allowed it to upstage the best Gran Tourismos of the era, but they were without a larger four-seater model that could rival Maranello's finest. To that end, the 4.0-liter 400 GT 2+2 duly appeared in 1966. The Espada followed in 1968 at Geneva and was named after a matador's sword. It wore styling by Bertone's Marcello Gandini, creator of the Miura and Countach, with styling similar to the stillborn, rear-engined, six-cylinder Marzal. Its front-mounted 4.0-liter, four-cam V12 engine was first seen in the 400 GT and later used by the contemporary Islero, with 325 horsepower that enabled a top speed of 150 mph. Islero running gear was employed but wedded to a platform-type, semi-monocoque chassis rather than the former's tubular frame. The dual overhead camshaft engine had six Weber twin-choke carburetors and backed by a five-speed manual gearbox. The suspension was independent with coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, and unequal length double wishbones. Four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes manufactured by Girling provided the stopping power. The calipers had three pistons, but the fronts used larger calipers than the rear. Series I cars and sold discs, with vented discs added for the Series II. The alloy wheels were built by Campagnolo on knock-off hubs, wearing the same design as the Miura. Steering was by a worm-and-peg type system manufactured by ZF and mounted at the front of the chassis.

The Espada was based on the Lamborghini Marzal prototype concept car that was displayed at the 1967 Geneva Auto Show, and also inspired by the Bertone Pirana. It had a sloped windshield with a fastback design, slightly covered rear wheels, with a slightly flared front wheel well. A trim line traversed the body side and dissected the upper section from the lower section. Signal lights were located just ahead of the front wheel well. The full-width grille housed dual round headlights, above a chrome trim piece.

The Series II cars arrived in January of 1970, with 25 extra horsepower and a top speed that increased by 5 mph to 155 mph. Additional upgrades included an improved dashboard layout, and the option of power-assisted steering. The dashboard was updated again for the Series III that followed in late 1972, with power steering now offered as standard equipment. Minor improvements were made to the suspension and brakes, and a restyled front grille.

Espada production ceased in 1978 after 1,217 examples had been built, of which 186 were Series I examples.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021