Lamborghini Espada

Lamborghini Espada
Lamborghini
aka
Production	1968 - 1978
Class	Gran Turismo
Body Style	2-door, 4-seat, Front-Engined Coupe
Length	474 cm
Width	186 cm
Height	119 cm
Wheelbase
Weight	1480 kg
Transmission
Engine	4.0 litre (3929 cc) 60º V12
Power	340 hp @ 7000 rpm
Similar	Ferrari 512 BB Ferrari Daytona De Tomaso Mangusta Maserati Ghibli
Designer	Marcello Gandini for Bertone

The Lamborghini Espada is a grand tourer which was built by Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini between 1968 and 1978.

Name

As is the case with most of Lamborghini's cars the Espada's name is also tied in to bulls and bullfighting. It means "sword" in Spanish, the weapon of the matador.

History

Based on the Marzal show car, displayed at the 1967 Geneva Auto Show, and the Bertone Pirana, a radically rebodied Jaguar E-type. It was to fill the spot of a true four seat car in Lamborghini's lineup, which already included the 400GT and Miura. 1217 cars were made, making it the most successful Lamborghini model at the time.

The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, shortly before he designed the Volkswagen Passat in 1971.

The Espada was originally fitted with a 4L 325bhp V12 engine, fully independent suspension and four wheel disc brakes. Most transmissions were manual, and the Espada also introduced one of the first automatic transmissions able to absorb the torque of a large sporting V-12. It had unusual gearing, with 3 ratios: drive, 1 and reverse.

During its 10 year production the car underwent some changes, and three different models were produced. These were the S1 (1968-1970), the S2 (1970-1972) and the S3 (1972-1978). Each model featured engine power improvements, but only minor details were changed with the exterior design. The interior was altered dramatically between each model. An all new dashboard and steering wheel was installed for the S2, and the interior was again revamped for the S3. In 1970, power assisted steering was offered as an option, and in 1974 an automatic transmission was also offered. In 1976 impact bumpers had to be installed to meet United States safety requirements, and some people consider cars produced with them to be the S4, but Lamborghini did not officially change the designation. Near the end of the Espada's life, Bertone designed a four door prototype, which was never put into production.

In 1999, a new version of the Espada was rumored to be in the works, but it was right at the time Lamborghini wanted to concentrate on a Diablo successor, so little became of the idea aside from a few drawings.^[1]

Gallery

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  The very luxurious dashboard of an Espada

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  The Espada offers plenty of interior space and seating for four full-sized adults

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  The Espada's rear profile

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  The front-mounted engine bay of an Espada

Lamborghini road car timeline (Template:Edit)
Type		1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s										2000s
		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
					Ferruccio Lamborghini										Rossetti/Leimer					receivership						Mimram				Chrysler							M'tec/V'Power				Audi
FR	GT					350GT
	2+2							400GT		Islero		Jarama
	Coupe									Espada
RMR	V8/V10																	Silhouette						Jalpa																					Gallardo
	2+2											Urraco
	V12							Miura								Countach																Diablo												Murcielago
SUV																												LM002

External links

• Lamborghini Registry - Espada
• Lamborghini Fan Page - Espada
• Motorbase, Lamborghini Espada