Lot 337: Lamborghini 350GT

Legend has it that Ferruccio Lamborghini began to build cars because he felt insulted by Enzo Ferrari's treatment of him as a customer. Whether or not that is true, Lamborghini did not do things by halves: he invested in a brand new factory and recruited the best available engineers, among them Giotto Bizzarrini and Giampaolo Dallara. In early 1964 the first Lamborghini, the 350GT, was shown and it was pitched directly against the Ferrari Superamerica and Maserati Sebring. Although Lamborghini resolutely refused to race his cars, they benefited from Bizzarrini's wealth of experience which included designing the Ferrari 250 GTO. The V12 four cam engine he created for Lamborghini was a design he'd had in mind for some time and was considered to be a jewel. Road testers raved about the new car and indeed the renowned motoring journalist Edward Eves on behalf of Autocar Magazine undertook an extensive road test of the new Lamborghini recording a top speed of some 158 miles per hour with more speed to come. This superb debut car for Lamborghini saw the company position itself at the very pinnacle of style and performance with its 3.5 Litre V12 four cam engine, four wheel disc brakes, ZF five-speed gearbox and Salisbury limited slip diff, and its short chassis with ultra light Superleggera aluminium coachwork by the best of Italian coachbuilders Touring of Milan. These features helped to make it one of the most desirable touring sports cars of its day and to many a better car than its rival Ferrari. This particular example, one of approximately 130 produced, was originally sold to none other then the Bournemouth based Ferrari concessionaire Ronnie Hoare, a compliment to Lamborghini in itself, no doubt to see how the Lamborghini compared to the Ferrari cars of the day. In 1967, this car passed to Mr. Clifford Johnson of Sevenoaks who in turn sold 0172 to the well known connoisseur Mr. Ivor Halbert of Bristol in 1969. Halbert, a qualified engineer, embarked on the conversion of this motor car to right hand drive configuration. The only modification to the standard layout was the changing of the speedometer which at this time read some 15,000 kms to a UK milometer. Since 1969, this superb car has only covered a further 24,000 miles making a total mileage of some 35,000 miles from new. Purchased by its current vendor in 1972, this rare and very original motor car has been cherished and maintained by its current owners for the past 36 years and still retains all original features and interior. Accompanying the motor car is, as one would expect, an extensive history file with many early invoices both from the Lamborghini factory and Portman garages, the main UK agents for Lamborghini, a copy of the original Autocar test and report, many old MOT certificates and of course the current V5 document. A rare, if not unique, opportunity to purchase an extremely original and low mileage example of the superb Lamborghini 350 GT.