60 years of Lamborghini

Six sensational decades

Founded in 1963, Lamborghini has become one of the world’s best-known car brands.

Emblematic models like the Countach are part of popular culture, but they represent the tip of the iceberg.

The firm has released a wide selection of models throughout the course of its roller coaster-like history, including a series of 2+2 coupés and a rugged, V12-powered SUV.

To celebrate the marque’s 60th birthday, here’s a look at every Lamborghini from the 20th century.

1. 350GT (1964)

Launched in 1964 as an evolution of the 350GTV prototype, the 350GT was the first Lamborghini sold to the public.

It wore an elegant exterior design (the eye-catching scissor doors hadn’t appeared yet) and it offered a luxurious interior with four seats, leather upholstery and wood trim.

In hindsight, the 350GT was closely aligned with other gran turismo models, including some built by soon-to-be arch rival Ferrari.

350GT (cont.)

Although it doesn’t meet the modern definition of a supercar, the Lamborghini 350GT offered excellent performance.

Most examples built used a front-mounted, 3.5-litre V12.

2. 400GT (1966)

Lamborghini launched an evolution of the 350GT named 400GT in 1966. Visually, the coupé stood out from its predecessor with a new-look design characterised by four round headlights, among other styling cues.

It offered a more spacious interior and received a 3.9-litre V12 that remained mounted in the front.

Here, again, the 400GT was aimed directly at the gran turismo segment dominated by Ferrari.

400GT (cont.)

The 400GT helped make Lamborghini a household name.

Several examples were exported, some went as far as Japan, and musician Paul McCartney is one of the coupé’s more famous owners.

Production ended in 1968 after Lamborghini built 225 units, though the final examples were sold in 1969.

3. Miura (1966)

Unveiled in 1966, and positioned above the 400GT as Lamborghini’s flagship model, the Miura played a significant role in defining the supercar as we know it today.

Engineers positioned the V12 behind the passenger compartment and mounted it transversely, a layout that raised more than a few eyebrows.

Bertone’s Marcello Gandini took advantage of this configuration to create a low-slung design.

Miura (cont.)

There was nothing else quite like the Miura on the market at the time, and it didn’t take long for the coupé to overshadow the 400GT; it became the Lamborghini.

Encouraged by this success, the growing company launched several evolutions. The earliest cars had 345bhp, the S models adding 20bhp.

The SV, revealed at the 1971 Geneva show, had 380bhp and among the changes was the deletion of the headlamp ‘eyelashes’.

In all, fewer than 800 Miuras were built.

4. Islero (1968)

Lamborghini developed the Islero to replace the 400GT and presented the coupé at the 1968 edition of the Geneva motor show.

While the model’s proportions didn’t change significantly, it received a more modern-looking exterior design with pop-up headlights and a high-mounted two-piece rear bumper.

It kept the front-mounted V12 engine, while its updated interior was designed with a focus on luxury.

Islero (cont.)

Although it was powerful and competitive, the Islero landed in a shrinking segment.

By the late 1960s, buyers in the market for an exotic car increasingly expected a certain degree of flamboyance.

In contrast, the Islero remained a relatively traditional coupé with a front-mounted engine, classic proportions and a 2+2 seating layout.

Lamborghini stopped production in 1969 after building approximately 225 units.

5. Espada (1968)

Lamborghini commissioned Bertone’s Marcello Gandini to design the Espada as a real four-seater.

It was envisioned as an alternative to the Islero and the Miura, and not intended as a replacement for either.

The Espada shared no styling cues with either of its siblings, and notably received a fastback-like roofline and a large glass hatch, but it went on sale with the familiar 3.9-litre V12 mounted under a long, flat bonnet. 

Espada (cont.)

Quick and spacious, the Espada sold surprisingly well; it stood proud as Lamborghini’s best-selling model from 1968 until production ended in 1978.

Precisely 1227 units were built, according to the company’s archives department, and the Espada went through three major evolutions during its decade-long run.

6. Jarama (1970)

Lamborghini wasn’t ready to leave the 2+2 segment.

Introduced in 1970, the Bertone-designed Jarama took the torch from the Islero with completely new proportions; it looked far more modern than its predecessor and its wheelbase was considerably shorter.

Its layout wasn’t significantly updated, so it carried on with a front-mounted, 3.9-litre V12, a five-speed manual gearbox and a luxurious 2+2 interior.

Jarama (cont.)

In the early 1990s, company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini called the Jarama one of his favourite cars.

His endorsement came too late: production ended in 1976 after fewer than 400 were built.

While the Jarama wasn’t directly replaced, Lamborghini saw enough potential in the 2+2 segment to stay in it.

7. Urraco (1972)

Unveiled in 1970, and released in 1972, the Urraco represented an attempt to increase Lamborghini’s footprint by offering a more affordable model.

On paper, it borrowed elements from both ends of the marque’s spectrum: its engine was mid-mounted yet it offered four seats.

The Urraco broke with tradition by adopting a V8 engine – the company’s first – instead of using a V12 like every Lamborghini before it.

Urraco (cont.)

With four fewer cylinders than other Lamborghinis, the Urraco was relatively well positioned to survive the first oil crisis that sent shockwaves across the car industry in 1973.

Several variants of the V8 were available ranging from 2 to 3 litres in displacement, and Urraco production finished in 1979.

This time, the 2+2 had reached the end of the line in the Lamborghini range.

The Urraco wasn’t directly replaced and the firm hasn’t released another 2+2 since, though we should see another one by 2030.

8. Countach (1974)  

Unquestionably one of the most influential supercars of the 20th century, the Countach made its debut as a concept car in 1971 and, against a great many odds, as a production model three years later.

It was impossible to miss: it featured a wedge-shaped silhouette, the now-iconic scissor doors and a big V12 mounted longitudinally behind the cabin.

It replaced the Miura at the top of the Lamborghini range.

Countach (cont.)

Designed by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini, the Countach single-handedly defined the design language that continues to influence Lamborghini’s supercars in 2023.

Its production run coincided with a tumultuous period of Lamborghini’s history: Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his company to Swiss investors in the 1970s, and the car maker was put into receivership by the Italian government shortly after.

Ownership returned to Switzerland in the 1980s before being transferred to Chrysler later that decade.

Throughout it all, the Countach stayed at the top of the range and played a big role in keeping Lamborghini alive and attractive to investors.

It went through numerous evolutions and retired in 1990 after 1999 units were made.  

9. Silhouette (1976)

Launched in 1976 as an evolution of the Urraco, the Silhouette kept the mid-mounted V8, lost the rear seats and gained a removable roof panel that could be stored directly behind the passengers.

The model was designed specifically for the American market, according to Lamborghini, and styling cues such as flared wheelarches and five-hole wheels helped create a visual connection with the mighty Countach. 

Silhouette (cont.)

Unlike the Countach, the Silhouette was designed to offer a blend of performance and comfort – in some ways, it was a daily-drivable supercar.

The mid-mounted V8’s exhaust note landed on deaf ears, however, and Lamborghini sold merely 53 units between 1976 and 1979.

The roadster has consequently become one of the most rare and most obscure regular-production models in Lamborghini’s history.

For context, the company built 63 examples of the limited-edition Sián FKP 37 coupe presented in 2020.

10. Jalpa (1981)

Lamborghini designed the Jalpa as an evolution of the Silhouette, which was an evolution of the Urraco; money was tight and the company did what it could.

While the Silhouette was designed with comfort in mind, the Jalpa shifted closer towards the performance end of the spectrum and received a bigger V8, among other changes. The engineers also dialled in sharper handling.

Jalpa (cont.)

Bertone was put in charge of design and brought the Jalpa even closer to the Countach by adding a sportier-looking bodykit and rectangular rear lights with round inserts.

Chrysler axed the model in 1988, shortly after it took over Lamborghini, and the V10-powered P140 designed as the firm’s next entry-level model remained at the prototype stage.

This makes the Jalpa the last ‘baby’ Lamborghini until the Gallardo arrived in 2003, and the last V8-powered Lamborghini until the Urus made its debut in 2017.

11. LM002 (1986)

Shaped like the box it came in, the LM002 turned more than a few heads when it made its debut.

It was the first four-door Lamborghini model, the brand’s first SUV and arguably the only super-off-roader in production at the time; keep in mind that horsepower and SUVs didn’t truly cross paths until the 1990s.

Its history is a latticework of tie-ups and aborted projects. Rewind to the late 1970s and Lamborghini was in dire financial straits, so it joined forces with an American defence contractor named Mobility Technology International (MIT) to develop an off-roader for the US Army.

Called Cheetah, the prototype used a rear-mounted, Chrysler-sourced V8 engine and could travel far off the beaten track, but it didn’t interest military officials. Lamborghini mothballed the project, but later modified it into a production model.

LM002 (cont.)

Lineage is the only link between the Cheetah and the LM002.

The rear-mounted, Chrysler-sourced V8 was replaced by a front-mounted, Lamborghini-designed V12, and the off-roader gained doors as well as a fixed roof.

While it wasn’t a hit, it was welcomed with open arms by the small subset of buyers looking for a 4x4 with supercar-like power, a roomy interior and a supercar-like price. Production ended in 1993.

12. Diablo (1990)

Released in 1990, the Diablo landed as Lamborghini’s third flagship supercar in almost 25 years.

In some respects, it was an evolution of the Countach: it kept the wedge-shaped silhouette, the scissor doors and the mid-mounted V12.

In other ways, it was a revolution: it featured a drastically updated interior, a bigger and more powerful V12 engine and, later in its production run, it was available with all-wheel drive.

Diablo (cont.)

While the Miura and the Countach had few direct rivals when they went on sale, the Diablo landed in a relatively crowded segment.

Lamborghini executives knew that a head-turning design wasn’t enough to lure buyers into showrooms, so they asked for a top speed of at least 320kph (199mph).

The engineers delivered: at launch, the Diablo boasted a 325kph (202mph) top speed.

Diablo production ended in 2001 after 2903 were built. By that point, Lamborghini had joined the Volkswagen Group under Audi’s stewardship and its future was brighter than ever before.

Happy 60th birthday Lamborghini.