1964 - 1966 Lamborghini 350 GT - Images, Specifications and Information

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On one fateful day in the early 1960s, Enzo Ferrari lost a loyal customer and gained a major competitor. On this day he told Ferruccio Lamborghini, who came in with a complaint about his latest Ferrari, that Lamborghini should stick to building tractors and leave building sportscars to him. A determined Lamborghini ignored the second half of the 'Old Man's' comments and the rest is, as they say, history.

Lamborghini's biggest problem with Ferrari was the lack of quality, so for his own creation he left nothing to chance and hired some of the best engineers and designers. The best known of these was no doubt Giotto Bizzarrini, who had recently left Ferrari where was responsible for the highly successful 250 GT racing cars. For Lamborghini he designed a state of the art 3.5 litre V12 engine with twin overhead camshafts. Six twin-choke Webers were fitted horizontally between the camshafts to make the engine low enough to fit under the bonnet. Initially it produced over 350 bhp, but Lamborghini was not interested in a peaky racing engine and he had Bizzarrini retune it to produce 280 bhp. A 320 bhp version was available as an option.

For the overall design, Lamborghini employed Franco Scaglione, who until this day is one of the most underrated designers of the era. His previous work included the Alfa Romeo BATs and more recently the ATS 2500 GT and influences of both were found in the very elegant GT he penned for Lamborghini. His work was turned to metal by Sargiotto Bodyworks and fitted on a square steel tube chassis built by Neri & Bonacini. Many of the remaining mechanicals like the five speed gearbox were sourced from third parties. Not equipped with an engine yet, the Lamborghini 350 GTV debuted at the 1963 Turin Motorshow.

Over the next months, much work was done to make the Lamborghini sports car production ready. Carrozzeria Touring was commissioned to smoothen out the body with the replacement of the pop-up headlights as the biggest noticeable change. Many more details were altered to the extent that the Touring body was almost completely new. Under the supervision of chief engineer Giampaolo Dallara, Neri & Bonacini continued the work on the chassis, which was independently sprung all around. In the spring of 1964, the Lamborghini 350 GT was ready for production and unveiled in Geneva. It was welcomed by the press with universal praise and once behind the wheel the praise turned into admiration.

Production really got underway later that year and two shortened chassis were sent directly to Zagato for a new body. Specializing in lightweight racing bodies, the Milanese coachbuilder was hired to produce an alternative for the Touring design; the company was struggling to survive and Lamborghini feared that a demise would leave them without a body. Zagato's Ercole Spada designed a conventional, but very elegant coupe with clear hints to his previous designs fitted on Alfa Romeo and Lancia racing cars. The restyled and lightened car debuted at the 1965 London Motorshow as the Lamborghini 3500 GTZ. Sadly, the cooperation between the two Italian companies stopped after just two cars were built.

In 1965 Lamborghini also debuted a ground breaking mid-engined supercar with an attractive bodywork designed Bertone. Dubbed the Miura, it featured a four litre version of the V12 engine. In 1966 this engine also became available as an option in the front-engined car and with this engine fitted, it was understandably redubbed to 400 GT. It proved to be an interim model and after only a handful were constructed, it was replaced by the 400 GT 2+2. It was immediately recognizable by the revised, double-oval headlights and, as the name suggests, could be ordered with two optional rear seats. There were many more differences and the body was executed in steel instead of the aluminum previously used.

While Lamborghini is best known today for their exuberant supercars, it's the front-engined Grand Tourers that got the company started. With his all-star team of designers and engineers, Ferruccio Lamborghini ensured that his car was a real alternative to the Maseratis and Ferraris of the day. Lamborghini's legendary test and development driver, Bob Wallace referred to the 350 GT as the very best car ever to roll off the Bologna production line; not bad for a first attempt. With production figures of 120 and 224 respectively, the 350 GT and 400 GT 2+2 are as rare as any of the Ferraris of the day and even though they are technically superior, they are available at a fraction of the price of a similar Ferrari.

Featured is one of the very first Lamborghini 350 GTs produced and the only survivor with a three-seat interior. Another distinct feature is the full width front bumper, which was abandoned after the first few cars were produced because of cooling problems. The Lamborghini badge is also unique to the first batch of 350 GTs built. This rare early car is seen above during the 2008 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.