RE: Prior Convictions: Espada at 50

[spikeyhead]

I had a really good look round one on a storage unit on a farm near Newton Longville when I was working in the same building years ago. It's a wonderful machine, though somewhat flawed with typical Italian electrics and coolant issues.

[F40LM]

Spotted this stunner at Oulton Park on Saturday

[Zaba1950]

I owned a 1974 Espada MK111 for three years (THW830M) in the late seventies, early eighties. Wonderful memories of a fine car but by golly it was quirky. The V12 engine had two distributors and six twin Weber carbs. No electronic ignition in those days! The rear seat cushions could be lifted out to increase useful luggage space. I advertised and sold the car via a display ad in The Sunday Times purchased and paid by cheque in advance and unseen on condition I drove up to North Yorkshire and deliver the car. The purchaser was a buff, direct Yorkshireman in his late-sixties. Behind him standing on the gravelled drive of a stone manse hovered a nervous youth in his early twenties cursed with ache in blotches upon his face. "My nephew" Mr Wagstaff exclaimed. "The car's to give him confidence with t'lasses."
I hope it worked ? If he obtained a fraction of the pleasure the Espada bestowed during my ownership then like all good stories there remains a happy ending.

[aeropilot]

The Espada was a 'toned down' (if that could ever be said about Lambo back then) version of the mad Marzal concept car.



And if anyone was watching the Historic Monaco GP racing yesterday on Quest TV, you'll have seen this very car being driven around the circuit by Prince Albert, 50 years after his father and mother drove around the circuit in the very same car ahead of the Monaco GP in 1968.

[myhandle]

myhandle said:

I don’t know where you live, but if you can get to the Silverstone Classic, there are usually between three and six on the Lamborghini stand. It’s a great event and well worth going to for 1000 reasons beyond the Espada. I went for a ride in an Espada S3 and it’s every bit as special as this article makes out. The view across the bonnet is remarkable, it is flat and enormous. You sit very low; the car is much nearer a Miura than a Urus. Looking out the back is remarkable too, if there is no luggage on board you can look through the lower rear window. Well worth going to an event which has one, this is a great childhood hero to have!

A second friend also has an S3 Espada in a darker colour than the one I travelled in. When I first met him at a car event, and was drooling over his mint Espada, he said, glad you like it, but do you know this? The Espada has a double boot lock, it makes an amazing double click when you unlatch it. Listen to me fing boot! And I listened to his boot, and it was excellent. Be sure to listen to the incredible Espada boot mechanism if offered the opportunity. I havent even mentioned the pull and sound from the V12, as it is exactly what you would expect/ hope for. The V12 sounds as good as the boot. Happy birthday, Espada!

[bosscerbera]

myhandle said:

myhandle said:

I don’t know where you live, but if you can get to the Silverstone Classic, there are usually between three and six on the Lamborghini stand. It’s a great event and well worth going to for 1000 reasons beyond the Espada. I went for a ride in an Espada S3 and it’s every bit as special as this article makes out. The view across the bonnet is remarkable, it is flat and enormous. You sit very low; the car is much nearer a Miura than a Urus. Looking out the back is remarkable too, if there is no luggage on board you can look through the lower rear window. Well worth going to an event which has one, this is a great childhood hero to have!

A second friend also has an S3 Espada in a darker colour than the one I travelled in. When I first met him at a car event, and was drooling over his mint Espada, he said, glad you like it, but do you know this? The Espada has a double boot lock, it makes an amazing double click when you unlatch it. Listen to me fing boot! And I listened to his boot, and it was excellent. Be sure to listen to the incredible Espada boot mechanism if offered the opportunity. I havent even mentioned the pull and sound from the V12, as it is exactly what you would expect/ hope for. The V12 sounds as good as the boot. Happy birthday, Espada!

Hahaha!

[bosscerbera]

Ultimate 70s plutocrat chic, epic GT car. Mine is well-travelled!

[bosscerbera]

Putting the Spa in Espada.

[url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/JEsMG4Rn[/url]

[Sine Metu]

dunnoreally said:

You'd never hear them admit it, but Lamborghini today is a very different company to the one that made the Espada. Back then they were a single successful businessman's passion project; now they're an ultra-high-end brand within a huge multinational company. Factor in how much times in general have changed, and is it really any surprise that the cars they're making now don't have a lot in common with the ones they made back then?

I think companies like Pagani and Koenigsegg have a lot more in common with the company Lamborghini used to be. Heck, think of it in terms of a few enthusiasts making the cars they really want to make rather than what they think the market wants, and you realise new TR might not be too far off...

Interestingly enough, i paid my first visit to the Lamborghini and Pagani factories last week. First time I ever saw an Espada in the flesh. Incredible car. Unbelievably low and sleek. And ultra cool in a quirky unique otherworldly way.
But here's the thing about the visits. Lamborghini was buzzing away. A very young workforce building practically everything along the production line. Watching them assembling the magnificent V12 engines, lower them in, starting them up, all the leather work stations humming away making bespoke interiors, no two cars the same, and awesome looking. An Avendator that has all the performance and drama you could desire in life surely for 350K. I remember seeing a picture of Countach's being built in Car magazine in the 70's and the place had a similar vibe.

Then up the road to Pagani. Couldn't be more different. Very quiet. A bit of a naff factory decor/design thing going on. No engines being built here. All shipped in from Germany. A few people making black carbon panels and bits. And to frank, it was hard to see where any other bits come from. They seem to just assemble them like kit cars. Yes, beautiful, fantastic and wonderful. But then I heard the price. Nothing there less than 1.5m and a couple up at around 3m. And it all left me a bit cold. Created as collectors toys for the ultra rich. A tool of oneupmanship really. Which is fine if you're into that sort of thing but the Lambo's felt more authentic ironically. You just felt they were being made to be driven and loved.

Ferrari. Went there as well. No factory tour, just the Maranello museum and the Modena museum. Bursting with history and heritage. No doubt about it but felt like a huge overly done brand by comparison. Might have been very different in the factory.