50 Years of Inspired Insanity From Lamborghini

The first Lamborghini was not a low-slung, overpowered sports car that looked like sex on wheels. It was a tractor, and a damn fine one at that.

The man who built it, Ferruccio Lamborghini, was a perpetual malcontent who was never quite happy with anything, including the fleet of Ferraris he amassed as his wealth grew. He considered them loud and unrefined, brutish racecars haphazardly adapted for the road. He told Enzo Ferrari how he might improve his cars. Ferrari told him, in no uncertain terms, to get lost.

The temperamental Italian wouldn’t have it, so he went home and began developing his first sports car. It would typify the Italian aesthetic: flashy, gorgeous, expensive and – despite his best efforts as a skilled engineer – temperamental. But it was the rolling embodiment of his vision for the perfect car.

Fifty years later, the company that bears his name continues striving toward that ideal.

It hasn’t always achieved it – anyone remember the LM 002? – but Lamborghini has never failed to inspire emotion. Love them or hate them, Lamborghinis make you feel something, which is exactly what Signor Ferrucio wanted to do. They’ve never established the same aura as Ferrari, perhaps because Lamborghini (the company) never went racing because Lamborghini (the man) crashed during his first and only race.

Still, Lamborghini’s hold a rarefied place in the automotive world. Ferruccio Lamborghini set out to build the world’s best grand tourer, a car of unmatched refinement, speed and luxury. Somewhere along the line the company evolved (devolved?) into a manufacturer of some of the most outlandish cars the world has ever seen, even if they’ve been made by the Germans since Audi bought the company in 1998.

Here, then, is a look at the most inspired and insane cars from Lamborghini.

All photos courtesy of Lamborghini

 

350 GTV and 350 GT

At the 1963 Turin Auto Show, Lamborghini shocked the world with its Franco Scaglione-designed 350 GTV concept. It was Ferruccio’s way of kicking down the door to show the sports car world – and Ferrari, in particular – he was serious.

The GTV concept eventually gave way to the 350 GT, which went on sale the following year. It lost its controversial fastback design and pop-up headlamps, but retaining its screaming, 320-horsepower 3.5-liter V12 and five-speed manual transmission. All for the better, because it remains one of the best looking Lamborghinis to date.

One-hundred and twenty 350 GTs were produced, with another 23 equipped with a larger, 4.0-liter V12 with the same amount of ponies, but more torque for better driveability. That was particularly important for Ferruccio, who never liked the high-strung (and high-maintenance) engines of his rivals at Ferrari and Fiat. The 350 GT set the stage, but the real first act was still a few years away.

 

Muira S

Think “Lamborghini” and one of two cars spring to mind. This is the one that should. It’s called the Muira and if it doesn’t make you weak the knees, close this page, get in your Camry and go home.

This was the car that would define the brand for decades, but it almost didn’t see the light of day.

Ferruccio’s main complaint with modern sports cars was a lack of civility. He preferred low-slung, grand-tourers with loads of torque and the engines mounted up front.

So when his engineers – working in secret – showed him the chassis of the Muira, he freaked. With its revolutionary mid-engine layout, this isn’t the kind of car he wanted his company to produce. But when the wraps came off at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, the crowds were so enamored with the design and innovative drivetrain that it was green lit for production immediately.

From 1966 to 1971, 764 Muiras were built in a variety of flavors, but the later SV is the one to have. It launched the supercar wars with its 370-hp V12 and 177 mph top speed. But stats and figures weren’t it’s selling point. Just look at it. Take in the lines, the blend of a mid-engine car’s silhouette with the hunkered down purposefulness of a GT car. It remains rolling automotive perfection, and if you ever get the chance to see one in person, ask the owner to open the doors. If you view it head-on, the up-kick in the door frames make it look like a bull.

 

P 250 Urraco

If there was ever a supercar equivalent of the Sophomore Slump, the Urraco was it.

After the success of the Muira, Lamborghini wanted to create something more affordable for the discerning car enthusiast. So with his sights set on the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Dino, Lamborghini created the P 250 Urraco, a 2+2 coupe with a transverse V8 mounted amidships producing anywhere between 180 and 250 hp depending on the spec. But even with a more attainable price, it looked like a mid-engine design by committee with the inspiration to match – particularly compared to the Muira. And sales bore that out, with the Urraco only managed to sell 780 examples, far short of Lamborghini’s goal of 2,000.

 

Countach

If you’ve got the faintest trace of gasoline and oil in your blood, you had a poster of the Countach on your wall growing up.

This was the definitive supercar of its era, with a 375-hp V12, a 186 mph top speed, a wedge shape that stood a scant 3.5 feet tall and scissor doors. Scissor. Freaking. Doors.

It was also a complete disaster to drive, with a dastardly engine, pedals that were so far off-set to the right that you had to be a Cirque du Soleil cast member to operate the clutch and absolutely no rearward visibility. If you wanted to parallel park, the procedure went like this: flip open the door, sit on the sill and look over the roof. But it’s the Countach, and we can forgive such oversights for a machine that exuded this much excess from every angle.

 

Silhouette

Lamborghini was desperate to crank into the U.S. market even further after the Countach set the bar, but their mistake was using the low-end Urraco as a starting point. While the 250-hp 3.0-liter V8 engine was finally perfected, the targa top was a design nightmare and the overall shape made the Hunchback of Notre Dame look like GQ cover model. In the end, only 53 Silhouettes made it to market, the last of which was used to develop the next ill-advised model.

 

Jalpa 350

The salad days of Lamborghini were coming to an end, and while the open-top Jalpa wasn’t exactly a failure, it was further proof that Lamborghini’s core ethos was slipping into oblivion.

With yet another iteration of the wedge shape used to uninspiring effect, the Jalpa was the unwitting poster child of coke-fueled 80s excess. This was largely due to the new owners of the company, the Mimram brothers, who took control in 1980 and figured, “why spend money on an all-new chassis when we can crib what’s already collecting dust in the shop.” Surprisingly, the 250-hp Jalpa was one of Lamborghini’s best-sellers at the time. As the only V8-powered model left in the line-up, some 420 cars were sold to mergers-and-acquisitions types – and their dealers.

 

LM 002

If the Jalpa was the rolling personification of shoulder-pad decadence, the LM 002 was its edgy, sheik-approved sibling. It’s an SUV! From Lamborghini? Wait, what?

Originally commissioned by MTI in the late 1970s as a new breed of off-roader for the U.S. military, the project was shelved, reborn, killed again, more prototypes were developed, canceled and then eventually shown to the public in 1986. The “Rambo-Lambo” eventually made it to production, equipped with the massive 444-hp, 5.2-liter V12 originally developed for the Countach. It ran in both the Paris-Dakar rally and the Pharaoh’s rally, and became the de facto ride of middle-eastern oil barons. And if the stock output wasn’t enough, Lamborghini would gladly outfit your LM 002 with the 7.2-liter V12 found in offshore powerboats, good for 600+ hp.

 

Diablo VT

Finally, a Lamborghini that was a worthy heir to the Muira and Countach – if just.

At the time of its introduction in 1993, the Diablo was up against the new kinds of automotive exotica: the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959. And like the rally-bred Porsche, the VT version implemented something that would be a staple of Lamborghinis of the future: all-wheel-drive. And it needed it. With a 500-hp V12 and tires wider than the Nile, this would be the reinvigoration that Lamborghini was desperate to attain under the dastardly stewardship of Chrysler. Too bad it had the road manners of a 200-mph tank.

 

Murciélago

Lamborghini was reborn with the Murciélago, the first model built under the ownership of Audi and the Volkswagen Group. Distilled into its purest performance form, the Murcié was the embodiment of Ferruccio’s vision for the company. It was imposing yet refined, fast but drivable. The 630-hp V12 (in its final form) made it a monster few cars could compete with. The convertible version would set your hair on fire. The LP 670–4 SuperVeloce (or SV) was one of the first supercars to hit 60 mph in under three seconds and with a top speed of 212 mph, it balanced brutality and civility with a suitably Germanic interior. That meant the plastic bits didn’t drop into your lap while running to V-max and the navigation system didn’t route you directly into a lake.

 

Gallardo

If the Murciélago was the over-powered bruiser in the Lamborghini family, the Gallardo was its lightened and lithe, track-friendly sibling. Introduced in 2003 and still on sale today, the Gallardo – in all its various iterations and derivations – is one of the most focused sports cars on the planet. And its relatively low price (starting with a bargain-basement sticker of under $200k) and high-strung V10 made it the perfect competitor to the Ferrari F430. But 10 years in, the Gallardo is getting ultra-long in the tooth, and a new model is rumored to be right around the corner.

And if you’re in the market, look for the LP550-2 Valentino Balboni edition, named after Lamborghini’s long-time test driver, with two-wheel-drive, a proper manual transmission and a traction control system that could be switched completely off.

 

Aventador

The new reigning champ of the Lamborghini line-up is the Aventador LP700-4. It’s an all-carbon fiber monster, with a 6.5-liter V12 in the grand Lamborghini tradition, a trick all-wheel-drive system, 690 hp available at a screaming 8,250 rpm, a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph.

In short, it’s a stats machine, and for Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary they’ve released this: Aventador LP 720-4 50° Anniversario edition. It has even more power, more torque, custom bodywork and an emblem made of a patented blend of forged composite carbon fiber, just to let the plebs know it’s extra, extra special.

Bench-racing detractors are fond of saying that the German’s stewardship of Lamborghini has whittled every last ounce of character from the storied marque. But one look at the Aventador and a real understanding of its past – what Ferrucio truly envisioned for his cars – proves otherwise. As long as they don’t green-light another SUV…