Wheelhouse Nottingham 1980's Supercar Dealer

[The Lamborghini Life]

Hi Everyone,

Just joined today.

I was born in Nottingham and my teenage years were taken up with cars and girls, Not being able to afford a car at the time my dream was to one day own a Lamborghini and I achieved that in 2014. Nothing has changed there I am still into cars and girls however finding the cars to be much more reliable.

What inspired me was back in I think 1985 /1986 there was a supercar dealership in Basford Nottingham on Lortas Road called Wheelhouse, it was owned by a man called Nick Wheelhouse, who ironically one of my friend now lives in his amazing house in Papplewick.

The Nottingham Evening Post dedicated their Friday newspaper to Motoring and all dealers would advertise their stock.

Wheelhouse would have by far the best selection of supercars at the time along with Sytner on Huntingdon Street.

One evening I was reading Wheelhouse's advertisement and noticed they had a Black Lamborghini Jalpa for sale.

Now I had never even seen a Lamborghini and most of the country in the 1980s had never seen one either unless you went to the motorshow and on the Alpine stand was a Lamborghini Countach.

That Friday evening, my brother and I went down to Lortas Road in Basford from our home In Rise Park to look through the window. That was the moment I saw for the very first time a Lamborghini.

A Black Jalpa, it looked amazing. The following Saturday morning my brother and I ventured back to Wheelhouse to see if we could have a closer look. The staff there were very friendly and even allowed me to sit in the drivers seat, that was it, looking at that Bull in the center of the steering wheel inspired me to one day own one of these beasts and in 2014 I become the very proud owner of a Black Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder with the very rare manual gearbox.

Now my question:

Does anyone have any old Nottingham Evening Posts with the Wheelhouse advertisements in from 1985 / 1986?

Does anyone have any photographs of when Wheelhouse were on Lortas Road Basford before they moved to the Aspley area of Nottingham?

Does anyone know how many Black right hand drive Lamborghini Jalpa’s came into this country?

Does anyone know the whereabouts of a Black Lamborghini Jalpa that may well be the very one I say in back in the 1980’s?

Any help with this will be very much appreciated.

Thank you

[The Lamborghini Life]

Thanks Andrews,

That is most appreciated.

[The Lamborghini Life]

Hi Ferruccio,

Thank you for your kind reply,

I knew the numbers were low I thought around 50 came into the UK

Yes I know the car in question may not even be around anymore, however it is amazing what you discover when you ask around.

I have just joined Lamborghini Club UK and will see what they can come back with.

I have also made a great contact who worked at Portman Lamborghini.

Be amazing if I found the actual car, there would not have been that many black ones.

[The Lamborghini Life]

Thank you for your kind reply,

That could well be the very car.

What year was it?

Where abouts did you purchase it from and when?

Also do you have any photographs of it?

Where abouts are you based?

It would be amazing if that was the car,

Thanks

[The Lamborghini Life]

Am I correct in saying you have the photographs on an undeveloped 35mm film or prints.

If on prints I can skan them into the computer for you, I can also print copies off too.

If I could find out how many right hand drive black Jalpas came into this country I could pin point if I sat in your very car in the mid 1980's at Wheelhouse in Nottingham.

I also saw the Pink Countach with the denim Leather in Nottingham back in the 1980s

As One would expect this was sold by Portman Lamborghini, and was displayed in their window.

I have seen pics of it on line.

[The Lamborghini Life]

Your Jalpa looks amazing. I am going to spend a day at Nottingham library looking through the Nottingham Evening Post archives and I will find the Wheelhouse Advertisment and know what Jalpa I actually sat in.

I recently joined The Lamborghini Club and a very member knew how many Black Jalpas came into the coutry in the 1980's

As soon as I track down Wheelhouse Advertisment I will post the details on this topic.

Thanks everyone for your interest and amazing experiences.

Be great if anyone had any Wheelhouse photographs when they were on Lortas Road in Basford Nottingahm.

[The Lamborghini Life]

Forgive my ignoranc,e what do the initals stand for in the list of Black Jalpa's?

Do they denote the years of manufacture?

[The Lamborghini Life]

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to my post.

Does anyone have any Wheelhouse Lortas Road advertisments from the 1980's?