Lamborghini Urraco

Vehicle Overview

The Lamborghini Urraco was born after the House of the Bull, in the early 1970s, decided to develop a new concept of a sporty, 4-seat, mid-engine coupe. The difficulties inherent in choosing the configuration were not few, but the manufacturer was convinced of the goodness of the solution. The path blazed by Lamborghini, would also be followed in a surprisingly parallel fashion by rival Ferrari a few years later with the 308 GT4 Dino: both manufacturers turned to Carrozzeria Bertone for the bodywork, both adopted a central trellis chassis with independent-wheel suspension with overlapping triangles, both chose a V8 engine. Marcello Gandini profoundly modified the classical division of the volumes in a car of that type, shortening the bonner and the exploiting the lenght of the 2450 mm wheelbase, which was almost all avaiolable to the cockpit. The Lamborghini Urraco P 250, the only version available at the time of its launch (1970), was powered by a 2463 cm³ single-shaft per-barrel V8 powered by four Weber twin-body carburetors, mounted in a transverse center position. The particular technical layout conditioned the styling, characterized by a low, pointed front end and a tapered fastback tail fitted with matte-black tinted “blinds” above the engine compartment and side pillars, a styling solution borrowed from its older sister Miura. Inside, a notable detail was the four-spoke steering wheel equipped with a “goblet” structure. The car was previewed at the 1970 Turin Motor Show, but the first examples could be delivered only a couple of years later. There were 520 examples produced, including the P 111. Photo courtesy of Bonhams.