My old Lambo photos from the 90s
Discussion
Great memories, I think Walter had the car that time in Ticino registred, unfortunately the factory repainted the car in this ugly yellow.
This Special miura was later also registred in Baselland (BL) the countryside around Basel (where I grew up), not sure if Walter still owned it that time, I guess not.
Since also his second countach, the Bugatti blue #202 used the same registration.
In Switzerland, the plates are with the owner and you can register two cars with the same plates, in case of oldtimers up to 7.
Saves a lot of tax and insurance costs.
This Special miura was later also registred in Baselland (BL) the countryside around Basel (where I grew up), not sure if Walter still owned it that time, I guess not.
Since also his second countach, the Bugatti blue #202 used the same registration.
In Switzerland, the plates are with the owner and you can register two cars with the same plates, in case of oldtimers up to 7.
Saves a lot of tax and insurance costs.
Edited by raymondqv on Tuesday 4th April 20:54
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This was my last visit to the factory in 1980 when the financial problems had already began to bite. The Fiat 127's were a limited edition (Palio?) which were receiving the finishing touches at the factory. At least it was helping the factory to stay afloat.
I had driven to the factory to collect spare parts and service items for Lamborghini GB who were operating from a garage at Whyteleafe in Surrey.
The only Lamborghini cars present were a couple of Countach and an Espada that was converted to four door.
Yes I had some great experiences, unfortunately I did not take enough photographs!
I have some slides of the first UK Urracos parked on the driveway of my parents house. I will try to get them brought into the 21st century.
What is great for me is that looking at your photos I recall many of the cars you have preserved. I can even remember some of the customers names.
I would like to see a photo of the first Lamborghini I drove which was a Jarama I collected from the factory in the winter of 1972. It had gone back for some remedial work. I think that the registration was ELB420J. It was painted brown with a light tan leather interior. A great car which let me down during an overnight stop at Aosta in the foothills of Mont Blanc. It would not start the following morning and had me baffled until i discovered that the vent on the fuel cap had iced over. If anyone has a photo of that car I would love to see it.
I have some slides of the first UK Urracos parked on the driveway of my parents house. I will try to get them brought into the 21st century.
What is great for me is that looking at your photos I recall many of the cars you have preserved. I can even remember some of the customers names.
I would like to see a photo of the first Lamborghini I drove which was a Jarama I collected from the factory in the winter of 1972. It had gone back for some remedial work. I think that the registration was ELB420J. It was painted brown with a light tan leather interior. A great car which let me down during an overnight stop at Aosta in the foothills of Mont Blanc. It would not start the following morning and had me baffled until i discovered that the vent on the fuel cap had iced over. If anyone has a photo of that car I would love to see it.
Found this one of my sister standing next to the demo P250 in 1973.
I caanot recall if this was the first or second RHD car. We also had a Red car and had the registration numbers of 11NKO and UHO1 but I cannot recall which was first.
I do recall that the car had a habit of spitting back through the carbs resulting in a flame or two in the engine bay.
I drove this car down to Dorset for a car show in glorious weather in the summer of 73. There must be other photos of it somewhere.
Bob the Cop said:
Found this one of my sister standing next to the demo P250 in 1973.
I caanot recall if this was the first or second RHD car. We also had a Red car and had the registration numbers of 11NKO and UHO1 but I cannot recall which was first.
I do recall that the car had a habit of spitting back through the carbs resulting in a flame or two in the engine bay.
I drove this car down to Dorset for a car show in glorious weather in the summer of 73. There must be other photos of it somewhere.
'UHO1' was on the cover of 'Autocar' mag on 14/9/74, I'm trying to load up the photo but having trouble at the moment, will have another go later.
'1NKO' was on a white Espada road tested by Ray Hutton in Autocar mag 26/4/73. Presumably Lamborghini knabbed a batch of closely related reg' numbers at the time...?
According to 'The Book Of The Lamborghini Urraco' the first RHD car was chassis number 15040 in orange and registered in London as '698 R'.
The Jarama 'ELB 420J' was the road test car featured in Motor mag for 3/7/71, but in the black and white photos it looks white...! (Incidentally 'ELB 418J' was on a white Espada road tested by Simon Taylor in Autosport mag 15/4/71).
Apologies for multiple edits, I'm having a bad day...!
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 16:56
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 16:59
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 17:11
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 17:16
Well you have managed to knock my little grey cells. The Orange (red in my memory) came first followed by the gold car. The number plates we had were 1NKO and UHO1 and the trade plate was 913LN which got made up into reflective plates when running on the continent! (but that is another story).
The gold car was sitting on my parents drive before going down to Dorset. A few weeks later I drove this car to Brundle in Norfolk where 'Martini' were filming an advert for a competition. (The lady used in the ad was Stephanie Maclean who later went on to marry Barry Sheene.) The car was filmed/photographed together with a Moonraker boat, somewhere I have a letter from the Marine company whose owner drove an Espada.
I am now 67 years old so I have to warm the memory up before engaging the finger on the keyboard!
As for ELB420J, the Jarama was painted Brown when I collected it from the factory in late 1972, early 1973. It had been back for remedial work which may have included a repaint. It was not unkown for cars to change colour depending on the preference of the owner. Another Jarama went from Silver to a two tone metallic blue! All a matter of taste I suppose.
The gold car was sitting on my parents drive before going down to Dorset. A few weeks later I drove this car to Brundle in Norfolk where 'Martini' were filming an advert for a competition. (The lady used in the ad was Stephanie Maclean who later went on to marry Barry Sheene.) The car was filmed/photographed together with a Moonraker boat, somewhere I have a letter from the Marine company whose owner drove an Espada.
I am now 67 years old so I have to warm the memory up before engaging the finger on the keyboard!
As for ELB420J, the Jarama was painted Brown when I collected it from the factory in late 1972, early 1973. It had been back for remedial work which may have included a repaint. It was not unkown for cars to change colour depending on the preference of the owner. Another Jarama went from Silver to a two tone metallic blue! All a matter of taste I suppose.
Bob the Cop said:
Well you have managed to knock my little grey cells. The Orange (red in my memory) came first followed by the gold car. The number plates we had were 1NKO and UHO1 and the trade plate was 913LN which got made up into reflective plates when running on the continent! (but that is another story).
The gold car was sitting on my parents drive before going down to Dorset. A few weeks later I drove this car to Brundle in Norfolk where 'Martini' were filming an advert for a competition. (The lady used in the ad was Stephanie Maclean who later went on to marry Barry Sheene.) The car was filmed/photographed together with a Moonraker boat, somewhere I have a letter from the Marine company whose owner drove an Espada.
I am now 67 years old so I have to warm the memory up before engaging the finger on the keyboard!
As for ELB420J, the Jarama was painted Brown when I collected it from the factory in late 1972, early 1973. It had been back for remedial work which may have included a repaint. It was not unkown for cars to change colour depending on the preference of the owner. Another Jarama went from Silver to a two tone metallic blue! All a matter of taste I suppose.
Fascinating stuff, it must have been a wonderful time back then visiting the factory 'on official business'..!The gold car was sitting on my parents drive before going down to Dorset. A few weeks later I drove this car to Brundle in Norfolk where 'Martini' were filming an advert for a competition. (The lady used in the ad was Stephanie Maclean who later went on to marry Barry Sheene.) The car was filmed/photographed together with a Moonraker boat, somewhere I have a letter from the Marine company whose owner drove an Espada.
I am now 67 years old so I have to warm the memory up before engaging the finger on the keyboard!
As for ELB420J, the Jarama was painted Brown when I collected it from the factory in late 1972, early 1973. It had been back for remedial work which may have included a repaint. It was not unkown for cars to change colour depending on the preference of the owner. Another Jarama went from Silver to a two tone metallic blue! All a matter of taste I suppose.
I've just found a photo of a green Urraco in David Hodges' book 'Lamborghini : The Legend' bearing the reg' number '11NKO', it looks like a period shot. The caption says it's a P300 but it looks like a P250 to me with the 'two slat' front bonnet.
Jarama 'ELB 420J' in white looks like it has a black leather interior in the 1971 road test report so it seems the car was also retrimmed at the factory before you got hold of it.
Still unable to upload the photos but will post them as soon as PH starts playing ball!
This is a very poor photo taken inside the factory on a disposable camera.
This was at the time of my 'spares' run for Lamborghini GB in 1980. (I was not employed by them at this time but I was sharing a house with Roger Phillips who had the garage at Whyteleafe).
This, as far as I know, was the only 4 door Espada.
My visits to the factory between 1972/1974 were always a great occassion. I was able to wander around the factory and have lunch with the workers in the staff canteen, which normally included a bottle of Lambrusco or two. In those days there were no camera phones and to be honest it never entered my head to record the sights on camera. With hindsight......................
I will try to search out some more photos from the 70's.
Many years ago I looked into buying a classic Lamborghini, I would have liked an Espada or Jarama as they have fond memories for me. I never got round to it and now the prices of the cars are hard for me to justify.
I do however drive a modern car that has a bit more performance than an Espada and is not far short of an original Countach.
Elsewhere on Pistonheads a member George Jung 'Tuvra' stated that anyone over 50 looked a bit of a TIT in this car. I think he comes from South Wales.
Anyway I bought the car because it gave me the opportunity to experience the performance again without the running cost, insurance cost, servicing cost, etc of a Lamborghini. At 67 I don't mind looking a bit of a TIT in this car because it is fun! I do however still yearn for a Lambo!
Many years ago I looked into buying a classic Lamborghini, I would have liked an Espada or Jarama as they have fond memories for me. I never got round to it and now the prices of the cars are hard for me to justify.
I do however drive a modern car that has a bit more performance than an Espada and is not far short of an original Countach.
Elsewhere on Pistonheads a member George Jung 'Tuvra' stated that anyone over 50 looked a bit of a TIT in this car. I think he comes from South Wales.
Anyway I bought the car because it gave me the opportunity to experience the performance again without the running cost, insurance cost, servicing cost, etc of a Lamborghini. At 67 I don't mind looking a bit of a TIT in this car because it is fun! I do however still yearn for a Lambo!
Fingers crossed these pics should appear...
The 'Faena' Espada, looks like it's at a dealership somewhere with an Espada and a Urraco...
A question or two for you Bob.. do you have a definitive number for the amount of RHD Urracos sold in the UK...? I think the general consensus is roughly ten percent of the 791 built in total. Do you recall how many of these RHD cars passed through your hands?
The 'Faena' Espada, looks like it's at a dealership somewhere with an Espada and a Urraco...
A question or two for you Bob.. do you have a definitive number for the amount of RHD Urracos sold in the UK...? I think the general consensus is roughly ten percent of the 791 built in total. Do you recall how many of these RHD cars passed through your hands?
Edited by P5BNij on Thursday 6th April 12:59
P5BNij said:
Lovely period shot Bob and thanks for sharing your memories.
'UHO1' was on the cover of 'Autocar' mag on 14/9/74, I'm trying to load up the photo but having trouble at the moment, will have another go later.
'1NKO' was on a white Espada road tested by Ray Hutton in Autocar mag 26/4/73. Presumably Lamborghini knabbed a batch of closely related reg' numbers at the time...?
According to 'The Book Of The Lamborghini Urraco' the first RHD car was chassis number 15040 in orange and registered in London as '698 R'.
The Jarama 'ELB 420J' was the road test car featured in Motor mag for 3/7/71, but in the black and white photos it looks white...! (Incidentally 'ELB 418J' was on a white Espada road tested by Simon Taylor in Autosport mag 15/4/71).
Apologies for multiple edits, I'm having a bad day...!
Lamborghini UK in 1969
'UHO1' was on the cover of 'Autocar' mag on 14/9/74, I'm trying to load up the photo but having trouble at the moment, will have another go later.
'1NKO' was on a white Espada road tested by Ray Hutton in Autocar mag 26/4/73. Presumably Lamborghini knabbed a batch of closely related reg' numbers at the time...?
According to 'The Book Of The Lamborghini Urraco' the first RHD car was chassis number 15040 in orange and registered in London as '698 R'.
The Jarama 'ELB 420J' was the road test car featured in Motor mag for 3/7/71, but in the black and white photos it looks white...! (Incidentally 'ELB 418J' was on a white Espada road tested by Simon Taylor in Autosport mag 15/4/71).
Apologies for multiple edits, I'm having a bad day...!
Lamborghini UK in 1969
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 16:56
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 16:59
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 17:11
Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 5th April 17:16
Well I'm fairly sure that this is my car, back in the day.
For some reasons, there are badges all over it. The Racal Car Phone antenna was still fitted to the rear passenger wing.
I never worked out why the roof antenna wasn't connected to anything. The radio was working off the antenna in the windscreen.
And in the interior shot you can see the stack for the internal alarm sensors. That wasn't present, but the holes in the leather are still there.
It it still shows the road dust on the back panel, just the same
Never knew it had that plate, though.
Thanks for sharing.
For some reasons, there are badges all over it. The Racal Car Phone antenna was still fitted to the rear passenger wing.
I never worked out why the roof antenna wasn't connected to anything. The radio was working off the antenna in the windscreen.
And in the interior shot you can see the stack for the internal alarm sensors. That wasn't present, but the holes in the leather are still there.
It it still shows the road dust on the back panel, just the same
Never knew it had that plate, though.
Thanks for sharing.
snapper seven said:
A few Jalpas next
IMG_0087 by snapper seven, on Flickr
IMG_0088 by snapper seven, on Flickr
IMG_0089 by snapper seven, on Flickr
IMG_0090 by snapper seven, on Flickr
IMG_0097 by snapper seven, on Flickr
IMG_0087 by snapper seven, on FlickrIMG_0088 by snapper seven, on FlickrIMG_0089 by snapper seven, on FlickrIMG_0090 by snapper seven, on FlickrIMG_0097 by snapper seven, on FlickrThanks for the interest in my post. In order to answer some of your questions I need to explain my time line with Lamborghini.
In October 1972 I was a 22 year old Cop in the City of London. On my beat I had the showrooms of Nicholas Van der Steen Ltd who were at Malvern House, Upper Thames Street, London EC4. A modern showroom and petrol station situated on the North side of Southwark Bridge.
Van der Steen had a BMW concession, with the Lamborghini business concentrated at 74, Alie Street, London E1. Nick Van der Steen ran the BMW concession and Roger Phillips looked after the Lamborghini side.
I called into the showroom for a tea and a chat whenever I was in the area. One day I saw A Honda motorcycle In the showroom, a CB750KO. Since the age of 16 I have been a keen motorcyclist (i still am), I discovered that the bike was owned by Roger Phillips and managed to blag a ride on it.
Roger invited me to the 1972 Earls Court motor show. Whilst there I was asked to drive a car from Earls Court to the showroom at Malvern House. The car turned out to be the just launched BMW 3.0 CSL in a beautiful gold colour. I very carefully drove the car across London and deposited it at the showroms.
After the show I called into Malvern House and Roger Phillips offered me a job as a driver. It turned out that the BMW drive had been my test!
I commenced work at Alie Street in November 1972 where I met Tom Gilban and Del Hopkins amongst others. There was another Bob working there so I was given the name 'Bob the Cop'.
This was the brochure produced for the 1972 Motor Show
The Countach would not be seen in the UK until the 1973 show.
I set about collecting customers cars for servicing, photo shoots with the press and delivering sold cars and collecting the part exchange, normally an Aston Martin, Ferrari etc. My first trip to the factory was late 1972 early 1973 to collect a Jarama, followed by several trips in 1973 as required.
In 1973 the Nick Van der Steen/ Roger Phillips partnership split and I stayed with Roger. Nick began importing the ISO Lele to make up for the loss of Lamborghini. Roger occupied new offices at 58, Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1. Later in the year we moved to 5-6 Yarmouth Place, Brick Street, London, W1.
This is the letter from JCL Marine where I took the gold Urraco for the Martini ad. I wonder who has John Newman's Espada now?
By this time I was driving, dealing with warranty issues and arranging servicing amongst other things. It was also the start of the Arab/ Israeli war that brought about problems with obtaining fuel. A Lamborghini at 10 to 15 miles per gallon did not go far on the 2 gallons ration. My work became more office based and it was with a heavy heart that I left Lamborghini in February 1974 to return to the Police. I did however remain a friend of Roger and was able to assist him on my leave days and shared a house with him in 1979/1981.
I will leave this post for now before it gets too long. I will answer the 'how many Urraco' question and let you know of an interesting car that almost was.
In October 1972 I was a 22 year old Cop in the City of London. On my beat I had the showrooms of Nicholas Van der Steen Ltd who were at Malvern House, Upper Thames Street, London EC4. A modern showroom and petrol station situated on the North side of Southwark Bridge.
Van der Steen had a BMW concession, with the Lamborghini business concentrated at 74, Alie Street, London E1. Nick Van der Steen ran the BMW concession and Roger Phillips looked after the Lamborghini side.
I called into the showroom for a tea and a chat whenever I was in the area. One day I saw A Honda motorcycle In the showroom, a CB750KO. Since the age of 16 I have been a keen motorcyclist (i still am), I discovered that the bike was owned by Roger Phillips and managed to blag a ride on it.
Roger invited me to the 1972 Earls Court motor show. Whilst there I was asked to drive a car from Earls Court to the showroom at Malvern House. The car turned out to be the just launched BMW 3.0 CSL in a beautiful gold colour. I very carefully drove the car across London and deposited it at the showroms.
After the show I called into Malvern House and Roger Phillips offered me a job as a driver. It turned out that the BMW drive had been my test!
I commenced work at Alie Street in November 1972 where I met Tom Gilban and Del Hopkins amongst others. There was another Bob working there so I was given the name 'Bob the Cop'.
This was the brochure produced for the 1972 Motor Show
The Countach would not be seen in the UK until the 1973 show.
I set about collecting customers cars for servicing, photo shoots with the press and delivering sold cars and collecting the part exchange, normally an Aston Martin, Ferrari etc. My first trip to the factory was late 1972 early 1973 to collect a Jarama, followed by several trips in 1973 as required.
In 1973 the Nick Van der Steen/ Roger Phillips partnership split and I stayed with Roger. Nick began importing the ISO Lele to make up for the loss of Lamborghini. Roger occupied new offices at 58, Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1. Later in the year we moved to 5-6 Yarmouth Place, Brick Street, London, W1.
This is the letter from JCL Marine where I took the gold Urraco for the Martini ad. I wonder who has John Newman's Espada now?
By this time I was driving, dealing with warranty issues and arranging servicing amongst other things. It was also the start of the Arab/ Israeli war that brought about problems with obtaining fuel. A Lamborghini at 10 to 15 miles per gallon did not go far on the 2 gallons ration. My work became more office based and it was with a heavy heart that I left Lamborghini in February 1974 to return to the Police. I did however remain a friend of Roger and was able to assist him on my leave days and shared a house with him in 1979/1981.
I will leave this post for now before it gets too long. I will answer the 'how many Urraco' question and let you know of an interesting car that almost was.
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