When Lamborghini puts the “Performante” badge on a vehicle, you can be sure it’s the hottest version and ready for some track thrills. The Urus Performante lives up to that badge’s promise, but at a cost in both extra dollars and reduced comfort. This carbon-fiber-festooned hooligan is meant for pavement only. For Lamborghini purists, having an exotic SUV with plenty of room that also thrills in track driving might be worth the sacrifices the vehicle demands.
Would you recognize this car as a Lamborghini? It’s the Islero, and it’s rare with just 225 made for 1968-1969. Named for the bull that killed one of Spain’s most famous bullfighters, the Islero packed the punch of a six-carburetor V-12 that could take it to 150 mph. The Islero’s modernistic look presaged the angular style would define exotic car design in the Seventies. Gooding & Company will offer this restored black 1968 Lamborghini Islero at its Amelia Island auction, where it is estimated to sell for up to $500,000.
According to Sales Manager Chris Warren, there’s lots of great cars you could buy for $1 million. Chris’ choice is a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400S. That car caused a sensation when it was first introduced in 1965, and only 700 Miuras were ever built. This is the car that’s credited with putting Lamborghini on the map, which was quite an accomplishment, given that the company was only three years old.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Italy’s “big three” couture carmakers – Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati – responded to customer demand for high-end GTs that offered more room than their 1960s models. The Lamborghini Jarama secured its unique place in Lamborghini history as one of its last front-engine models.
When was the last time an auto-show introduction knocked your socks off? Chances are, you already saw the car on the Internet days before. Journalists and patrons at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966 had no such spoilers to dampen the thrill of seeing the Lamborghini P400 for the first time. Five decades later, the Lamborghini P400 Miura is appreciated as both a landmark sports car and design.