It should be remembered Lamborghini unveiled the Espada as early as 1968. It was based on the Marzal show car, also a Bertone design, with lengthy glass gullwing doors and a very weird silver interior. Lamborghini had been making cars for only a few years, and the Espada already completed their line-up with a four-seater GT that could actually accommodate people.
This Espada is a later car, a 1974 Series III. It’s also a US-market version, which on a mid-70s car means all kinds of appearance-altering bits like protruding rubber bumpers. Check it out.
My favorite thing about the Espada is the way the roof curves ever so slightly to the rear deck. It’s almost a straight line, and the front and rear overhangs respond to that almost boat-like.
Clap-hands windshield wipers, NACA ducts.. and a front bumper that looks to be pilfered out of a Federalized bumper car.
Here’s the rear deck glass in full. It also has a Honda-like vertical window, and making CRX comparisons here probably borders on blasphemous.
“Let’s put a dial here. And a switch here. Put all the dials in here. Damn, there’s no room for the stereo… Let’s put it on the left. Ain’t no-one going to mess with my tunes.”
The quad-cam, 350-horsepower V12 is an admirable sight. For a Malaise era US-market car, it’s admirably unrestrained. Of course, this particular car is one of 55 built with TorqueFlite automatic transmissions, so there’s that.
The white car has also been customized with light pinstriping in red and blue. Somehow, it actually improves the looks. I’m also fond of the purposeful-looking wheels.
This 33 000 mile car is for sale for 46 500 dollars , at Fantasy Junction, Emeryville, California. Take a look at the listing.
[Images: Fantasy Junction]
Leave a Reply