Lot 226: 1976 Lamborghini Urraco

Legend has it that Ferruccio Lamborghini, a successful manufacturer of air conditioning and tractors, bought a Ferrari and found it wanting. He took it back to Maranello and, infuriated by the haughty reception he received, vowed to make a better car. Before long, Lamborghini was established as one of the world's most desirable marques. The first generation of cars all used a 'quad-cam' 4-litre V12 engine and they were so successful that Lamborghini decided to tackle the Ferrari Dino. The Urraco of 1970 was virtually the smaller brother of the fabulous Miura. It had, however, an advanced new steel chassis of near-monocoque construction with front and rear suspension by MacPherson struts and lower wishbones, and a transversely-mounted 220bhp V8 engine of 2,463cc which drove through a five speed transaxle. The Urraco was more powerful than the Dino and could out-pace it. Furthermore, it was a 2+2 and, by general consent, its Bertone body was exceptional - most people would rate it more highly than Bertone's body for the later 2+2 Ferrari Dino GT4. It was intended to sell in relatively large numbers but soon after it reached production the entire market was hit by the OPEC oil crisis. Thus only 520 examples of the P250 were made, which was bad news for Lamborghini, but good news for buyers today seeking a comparatively rare car with pedigree, performance and stunning looks. Origionally registered in Southern Italy, this extremly sound and underrated supercar has under 6,000km recorded. It is described by the vendor as being in excellent condition, running well as you would expect from a recently serviced car. Presented in sound origional condition, the leather on both seats and dashboard bears no sun damage that a hot climate can sometimes inflict and the attractive colour scheme reflects well the increasing rarity of these high performance cars.