Lamborghini

JB was like a Raging bull at a gate when he got a chance to drive
a grand tourer from italy’s ‘other’ supercar maker
F
past blast
jOHN BOWE
Lamborghini
espada
Photos stuart grant
erruccio Lamborghini made road
cars that went head-to-head with
Ferrari in the marketplace but he
did it without any motor racing
heritage. Ferrari has always been
involved in racing (its road car division was
originally set up to fund its racing program)
and its image and marketing is based
around its racing heritage.
Lamborghini didn’t have that – he was a
tractor manufacturer! As the story goes, he’d
had such a bad run with a Ferrari he owned
that he vowed to build a better car. It was a
raised-middle-finger gesture to Enzo Ferrari!
The result was the V12-powered 350
GT launched in 1964, but it was the Miura
in 1966 that really put Lamborghini on
the map. Two years later came the Espada,
so with three distinct models in around
five years, it’s easy to see Lamborghini was
serious about success.
Lamborghini produced three series
of Espadas between 1968-78 and this
particular Espada is a series two model. It
belongs to Peter Edwards, a mate of mine
who I’m driving in the Bathurst 12-Hour
with. He’s a great car nut and this one
has been in his family since new! It was
his grandfather’s car and it’s covered just
67,000km so it’s as tight as a drum. I’m very
privileged to be able to drive it.
It’s in striking duck egg blue with
dark blue leather and has had fresh paint
over the years but apart from that it’s as
original as can be. Everything is beautiful;
it has a lovely patina about it that makes a
statement about how it’s been cared for. It’s
just had a new set of Michelin XWX tyres
fitted, which would have been available
back in the day, and it’s great you can still
source these classic tyres as some older
high-performance cars are very sensitive to
tyres and lose some of their finesse on more
modern rubber. This Espada is as close to
above JB comes to grips with the ‘Italian
Ape’ short-leg, long-arm driving position
left Bertone-designed Espada is distinctive
rather than pretty, but the striking colour helps
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Pastblast
Below Peter Edwards’ grandfather’s
Espada was road-tested by Sports Car
World magazine back in August 1970
above Versions of the Bizzarrini-designed
V12 powered Lambos from original 350GT of
1964 through to the 2010 Murcielago
showroom as you can get!
Like most Italian cars of that era, it’s a
very charismatic car. Styling-wise, Espadas
were fairly groundbreaking, actually.
Take a look at it – it’s long, it’s low, it’s
sleek. Lamborghinis are better known for
having mid-rear engines – like the iconic
Countach, Diablo and Murcielago – but the
Espada carries its V12 engine in the front
and instead of downdraft carburettors, it has
six dual-throat sidedraft 40DCOE Webers,
which help get the bonnet line so low. A
five-speed manual sits behind it – rather
than a rear-mounted transaxle – and an
automatic was also available.
The hatchback concept was a pretty
new idea back then, too – especially with
the innovative glass panel that opens up
the cabin and allows you to see behind.
Well, that was the idea. The reality is, when
you look in the mirror all you can see are
below High-backed
styling created room for rear
passengers and their luggage
above Espada’s road manners improve at
speeds above 110km/h. It was built for fast,
bendy autostradas, not draconian Australia
I Own One...
reflections. But as much as 1960s or ’70s
Italian cars can be temperamental, this
one is really practical. It’s a 2+2 and there’s
actually something approaching space in
the rear for people. It’s quite long, too, and
there’s heaps of space in the rear for luggage.
I drove this one from Richmond in East
Melbourne where I collected it, through
traffic out to where we did these pics. In
traffic, it’s easy enough to manage. There’s
no power-assist but the steering’s not too
Peter Edwards grew up
around his Espada as his
grandfather bought it new!
“There’s a picture of me standing
in the back seat wearing a
nappy!” he chuckles. “I can
remember going for ice-creams
with five of us in the back!”
Ownership has been
surprisingly trouble-free. “There’s
been nothing serious go wrong
with it – I redid the paint and a
few other things. But something
of the same age, like an HQ
Holden, will require similar work.
“It’s a strong car and it
pulls well. It’s actually very
practical. When it was new,
this was sharing the highways
with EH Holdens. It was like a
spaceship.” – GT
heavy. At parking speeds, it needs a little bit
of exertion but as soon as it’s above walking
speed it’s fine. And boy, does it get some
looks! I guess that has something to do with
the colour…
The V12 is civilised and has a beautiful
sound – it’s not thrashy or metallic like
some other V12s. It’s the same basic engine
as the Miura’s but it’s not as snarly and
was designed by ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto
Bizzarrini. They would have played with
arms are outstretched and your knees are up
at your neck! When I was younger, I had
Alfas and Fiats and they were the same, but
you tend to forgive that because the pedals
are laid out for good heel-toeing. I wore
special Italian driving shoes I’ve had for
years which helped get me in the mood for
some driving fun.
There’s a wide centre console with Jaeger
gauges scattered across the dash, typical of
cars of the era. Not that they’re accurate;
Lamborghini began as a raisedmiddle-finger gesture to Enzo ferrari
the cams and stuff to make it more of a
grand-touring powerplant. In contrast to
the classic metallic open-gate gearshift of
a Ferrari, this has a leather gate and quite
long throws. It’s not a knife-through-butter
’box – it requires some ‘driving’ and you’ve
got to get your timing right – but I regard
that as part of its charm.
On-road, the car is very composed and
capable, which suits its intended grand
touring role. The brakes have great feel
and the ride is terrific. But the Espada has
that typically atrocious Italian arms-out,
legs-back, gorilla driving position! Your
I put my GPS in it and it confirmed the
speedo is wildly optimistic!
I really enjoyed the Espada but the drive
was edged with frustration. I can imagine
driving it on European autostrada and back
roads where they don’t have the draconian
speed limits we have here. In Australia, the
car feels stifled. Eventually, we got through
the traffic and onto the freeway and – like
these cars always do – it came alive with
more speed. It wants to be driven over
110km/h and you can feel it settling down
and the steering coming alive. It’d be great
to drive somewhere there isn’t a speed
camera on every overpass…
Rightly or wrongly, Italian cars
have a flawed reputation – unreliable,
temperamental, fairly average quality, rusty
– but I love them. You can never accuse
them of not having character! In its day,
this would have been a rock-star car. I didn’t
think I’d like the Espada as much as I did,
it was just lovely. I don’t think Espadas are
mega money, either – certainly nowhere
near the money commanded by similarly
exotic Ferraris and Aston Martins of the era.
Even Uncle Phil was impressed. After
driving for a while he said, “Gee, I like this
car!” and he usually doesn’t like Italian cars!
Fast Facts
1970 lamborghini espada
Engine 3929cc V12, DOHC, 24v,
six Weber carburettors
Power 261kW @ 7500rpm
Torque 393Nm @ 5500rpm
Weight 1635kg
gearbox 5-speed manual
0-97KM/H 6.6sec*
0-400m 15.5sec*
TOP SPEED 260km/h (claimed)
price new $27,300
* Wheels April 1972
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