The Lamborghini Cars
Diablo
Countach
Jalpa
Miura
Espada
The Lamborghini
Diablo
The Lamborghini Diablo, capable of 0-60 in 4 seconds. The
Diablo, first introduced in 1990, was a huge hit (no pun intended).
It is Lamborghini's all time crash king in number of cars totaled.
It
took four years of design and testing before the Lamborghini Diablo
was introduced to the public and journalists in Monte Carlo on
January 20,1990. It was the second 'Lamborghini day' and the feeling
was that the Diablo was finally ready to take over the tradition of
the Miura and the Countach.
A team of more than 100 people had worked
almost full time on the development of the Diablo. More than
500,000km of road tests had been done, and the engine had been tested
for no less than 10,000 hours at the bench.
Seemingly insurmountable problems were
faced in the design of the new engine - strict anti-pollution
regulations had been introduced and old carburetors could not be
used for cars sold in the United States. There were simply no
commercial electronic fuel injection systems available on the market
for a 12-cylinder engine.
Engineer Checkorani, head of the research
and development department, was commandeered to develop a totally new
electronic fuel injection system. Using internal Lamborghini
resources, the result was the new engine system called L.I.E. - a
design still found in today's Lamborghini engines.
Special techniques used in frame
construction, enabled the Diablo to easily pass the more demanding
crash tests required. Cloak and dagger tactics were employed to
maintain the yet-to-be unveiled car. The new prototypes were tested
again on the roads close to the factory and on the Navdo racetrack.
The Lamborghini Diablo was allowed to circulate in its actual shape
during night tests,but disguises were employed during daylight to
confound the photographers who were impatient to catch the new
Lamborghini.
The new tests at Navdo showed that the
engine was up to its task, allowing the Diablo to reach 340 km per
hour. The Diablo was the fastest production car in the world.
Performance was certified during the test at the Navdo race track.
Maximum speed was 325.2 km per hour.
Acceleration from zero to 100 was
certified at 4.09 seconds. From a still start, a kilometer was run in
20.7 seconds. The initial goal of Project 132,to build the number
one car in the world, was met in four years of hard work.
The Lamborghini
Countach
The Lamborghini Countach, one of the
classic exotics, was a child hood dream to many growing up in the
80s. The Countach was way ahead of its time when it was introduced
in 1974 and produced until 1990. Capable of achieving a top speed of
over 180 MPH. The
Lamborghini Countach is the car you put at the top of the Christmas
wish list� the car you would drive if you wanted EVERYONE to notice
you. The Lamborghini simply has something (besides a heart-attack
inducing price-tag!) that makes the most cynical of us sit up and
take notice.
And dream on having the resources and the
intestinal fortitude to actually buy one.. How many of us plastered
our computer screens with wallpaper posters of this car?
Mine was a white Lamborghini Jalpa and I know
of innumerable Countach' s that have been immortalized in
bedrooms, offices and garages around the world.
This site shares some of the images and
information that have helped create the legend that is the
Lamborghini.
The Lamborghini � Jalpa
This more subtle of the Lamborghini
stable was originally known as project 118. The Lamborghini Jalpa
featured the same chassis as the earlier Silhouette, but the P350
boasted featured a redesigned body, more precise steering, and an
improved 3.4 liter engine.
With a steel
body, centrally located
engine and sheer speed (the Jalpa traveled from 0-60 in 7.3 seconds)
the Jalpa won plenty of fan. Unlike the Urraco,this Lamborghini met
criteria allowing it to be sold in the U.S.
Initially, the Jalpa went on sale in 1982. By
1987,sales had showed a marked decline. Production was halted by
Lamborghini in July 1988 after constructing just 410 Jalpas.
The car is now a high-priced collectible
which still holds street appeal some 20 years on.
The Lamborghini Miura
This was first shown at the Geneva Salon in 1966, and it quickly became a classic. Both ends could be tilted up, to provide access at the front to the spare wheel and front suspension, and at the back to the transversely placed 3.9-litre V12 engine. And the most striking newcomer of the sixties was undoubtedly Lamborghini. Ferrucio Lamborghini was a successful manufacturer of Farm Tractors and Central Heating equipment who realized his dream of becoming a car maker in 1963 with the launch of his 350GTV. this was the Gran Turismo coupe powered by a 270 bhp 3.5
liter four overhead cam shaft V12 engine designed by Giotto Bizzarini , who soon left the project to return to his own design studios. This engine was later enlarged to just under four
liters and this was the powered unit that went into the car that came to be called the Miura.
This had somewhat unusual background in that the chassis was built, unknown to the boss, by the Lamborghini employees, Gianpaolo Dallara, Bob Wallace and Paolo Stanzini, in their spare time they welded box section structure with coil independent suspension all round, in which the V12 engine was located transversely. Power was transmitted to the clutch by a pair of spur gears, and thence to a 5-speed gearbox. From there another pair of gears, transmitted power to the differential. This chassis met with Lamborghini's approval and went on exhibition at the 1965 Turin Show. By the Geneva Show the following March it had acquired a body designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, and was given the name Miura after a celebrated Spanish breeder of fighting bulls, Eduardo Miura. At first considered as a one-off show car, the Miura attracted many serious enquiries from would-be customers, and Lamborghini decided to put it into production.
The first car was delivered to its owner in March 1967, and 108 Miuras were sold that year. The next year, the first of full production, 184 cars were delivered, and the Miura was on its way to becoming a legend. The original version had a top speed of 173 mph (278.5 km/h), and this was increased to just short of 180 mph (289.5 km/h) on subsequent models. Road holding was exceptional and the Miura was remarkably untemperamental, suffering little from the plug fouling or irregular idling often associated with exotic machinery. Customers included Canadian Grand Prix sponsor Walter Wolf, who has owned several subsequent Lamborghini�s, and a number of pop stars, as well as wealthy enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.
In January 1969 an improved model, the Miura S, was announced. This had a more powerful engine giving 375 hp, with air conditioning and electrically operated windows as options. Two years later came the final development, the Miura SV with wider rear tyres to cope with the still greater power resulting from different cam timing, modified carburetors and bigger inlet valves. Output was now 385 bhp at 7,850 rpm, and top speed 179.8 mph (289.3 km/h). Most of the bugs had been ironed out by this time, and the SV was, and is, the most desirable of all. the Miuras. It remained in production for a little more than twelve months, as it was to be succeeded by the even more dramatic Countach. Total production of Miuras was 765.
Outside the main car producing European countries few sports cars were made. In Spain a brief but brilliant comet flashed across the scene in the shape of the Pegaso. This was designed by Witfredo Ricart and built by ENASA, the government owned Barcelona company who were, and still are, Spain's largest makers of trucks and buses. Ricart's design was immensely complicated, with a four camshaft V8 engine featuring dry sump lubrication and sodium cooled exhaust valves. This was the first use of twin camshafts per block in a road going car, earlier examples being purely racing engines by Mercedes Benz, Miller and Novi. Ferrari did not use this design for a road car until the GTB4 Daytona of 1968. The gearbox had five indirect speeds without synchromesh, and was mounted on the rear axle. In its original form, as shown at the 1951 Paris Salon, the 2�-litre engine developed between 165 and 225 bhp according to tune', but later versions were enlarged to 2.8 and then 3.2 litres. The latter could be supercharged, when output was claimed as 350 bhp. From about 1955 Rican simplified his engines, using pushrod V85 of 4, 41/2 or 4.7 litres, the largest giving 300 bhp.
Pegaso boaies were mostly by outside coachbuilders, although early models had factory bodies, a neat 2 + 2 coupe something like a Ferrari 166, and a convertible. These were more restrained than the subsequent creations by Saoutchik. Later Pegaso chassis were shipped to Milan to be bodied by Touring, but this made them very expensive, and the final cars were Spanish-bodied by Jose Serra. Pegasos were raced on rare occasions, but their brakes were inadequate for their weight, and the company did not keep up with the latest technology such as disc brakes. Commercial vehicles claimed most of their attention and finance, and the Pegaso car was dropped in 1958 after about 100 had been made. Of these, only four were later pushrod Z.103 models.
Although their rally drivers and cars have scored innumerable successes, Sweden has never been renowned for its sports cars. However, both its leading manufacturers have made sports cars during the period under review. Saab were first in the field, with an open two-seater derived from the 3-cylinder 93 saloon. Only six of these were made, in 1956, and they were intended for racing, with no production in mind. The 748-cc engine and transmission were turned round, compared with the saloon, so that the engine was behind the front wheels. This gave better weight distribution as the two-seater steel/light-alloy monocoque was much lighter than the four-seater saloon.
The 1956 car was christened the Sonett, and this name was revived ten years later when Saab launched a GT coupe based on the 841-cc 96 saloon. By now the company had a worldwide reputation for their rally cars, thanks to the successes of Erik
Carlsson.
The Lamborghini Espada
This was first shown at the Geneva Salon in 1966, and it quickly became a classic. Both ends could be tilted up, to provide access at the front to the spare wheel and front suspension, and at the back to the transversely placed 3.9-litre V12 engine. And the most striking newcomer of the sixties was undoubtedly Lamborghini. Ferrucio Lamborghini was a successful manufacturer of Farm Tractors and Central Heating equipment who realized his dream of becoming a car maker in 1963 with the launch of his 350GTV. this was the Gran Turismo coupe powered by a 270 bhp 3.5 litre four overhead cam shaft V12 engine designed by Giotto Bizzarini , who soon left the project to return to his own design studios. This engine was later enlarged to just under four litres and this was the powered unit that went into the car that came to be called the Miura.
This had somewhat unusual background in that the chassis was built, unknown to the boss, by the Lamborghini employees, Gianpaolo Dallara, Bob Wallace and Paolo Stanzini, in their spare time they welded box section structure with coil independent suspension all round, in which the V12 engine was located transversely. Power was transmitted to the clutch by a pair of spur gears, and thence to a 5-speed gearbox. From there another pair of gears, transmitted power to the differential. This chassis met with Lamborghini's approval and went on exhibition at the 1965 Turin Show. By the Geneva Show the following March it had acquired a body designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, and was given the name Miura after a celebrated Spanish breeder of fighting bulls, Eduardo Miura. At first considered as a one-off show car, the Miura attracted many serious enquiries from would-be customers, and Lamborghini decided to put it into production.
The first car was delivered to its owner in March 1967, and 108 Miuras were sold that year. The next year, the first of full production, 184 cars were delivered, and the Miura was on its way to becoming a legend. The original version had a top speed of 173 mph (278.5 km/h), and this was increased to just short of 180 mph (289.5 km/h) on subsequent models. Road holding was exceptional and the Miura was remarkably untemperamental, suffering little from the plug fouling or irregular idling often associated with exotic machinery. Customers included Canadian Grand Prix sponsor Walter Wolf, who has owned several subsequent Lamborghini�s, and a number of pop stars, as well as wealthy enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.
In January 1969 an improved model, the Miura S, was announced. This had a more powerful engine giving 375 hp, with air conditioning and electrically operated windows as options. Two years later came the final development, the Miura SV with wider rear tyres to cope with the still greater power resulting from different cam timing, modified carburetors and bigger inlet valves. Output was now 385 bhp at 7,850 rpm, and top speed 179.8 mph (289.3 km/h). Most of the bugs had been ironed out by this time, and the SV was, and is, the most desirable of all. the Miuras. It remained in production for a little more than twelve months, as it was to be succeeded by the even more dramatic Countach. Total production of Miuras was 765.
Outside the main car producing European countries few sports cars were made. In Spain a brief but brilliant comet flashed across the scene in the shape of the Pegaso. This was designed by Witfredo Ricart and built by ENASA, the government owned Barcelona company who were, and still are, Spain's largest makers of trucks and buses. Ricart's design was immensely complicated, with a four camshaft V8 engine featuring dry sump lubrication and sodium cooled exhaust valves. This was the first use of twin camshafts per block in a road going car, earlier examples being purely racing engines by Mercedes Benz, Miller and Novi. Ferrari did not use this design for a road car until the GTB4 Daytona of 1968. The gearbox had five indirect speeds without synchromesh, and was mounted on the rear axle. In its original form, as shown at the 1951 Paris Salon, the 2�-litre engine developed between 165 and 225 bhp according to tune', but later versions were enlarged to 2.8 and then 3.2 litres. The latter could be supercharged, when output was claimed as 350 bhp. From about 1955 Rican simplified his engines, using pushrod V85 of 4, 41/2 or 4.7 litres, the largest giving 300 bhp.
Pegaso boaies were mostly by outside coachbuilders, although early models had factory bodies, a neat 2 + 2 coupe something like a Ferrari 166, and a convertible. These were more restrained than the subsequent creations by Saoutchik. Later Pegaso chassis were shipped to Milan to be bodied by Touring, but this made them very expensive, and the final cars were Spanish-bodied by Jose Serra. Pegasos were raced on rare occasions, but their brakes were inadequate for their weight, and the company did not keep up with the latest technology such as disc brakes. Commercial vehicles claimed most of their attention and finance,1 and the Pegaso car was dropped in 1958 after about 100 had been made. Of these, only four were later pushrod Z.103 models.
Although their rally drivers and cars have scored innumerable successes, Sweden has never been renowned for its sports cars. However, both its leading manufacturers have made sports cars during the period under review. Saab were first in the field, with an open two-seater derived from the 3-cylinder 93 saloon. Only six of these were made, in 1956, and they were intended for racing, with no production in mind. The 748-cc engine and transmission were turned round, compared with the saloon, so that the engine was behind the front wheels. This gave better weight distribution as the two-seater steel/light-alloy monocoque was much lighter than the four-seater saloon.
Disclaimer: All information
displayed here are not in anyway related to J&J concepts. This
site is not in anyway related to offcial lamborghini SPA or its
respective owners.
www.lamborghini.com
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