Bertone Lamborghini Espada History
Lamborghini's four-seat V12 GT designed by Gandini at Bertone — once the best-selling Lamborghini of all time; 1,217 built.
Photo: “1968-1978 Lamborghini Espada coupe 01” by OSX / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Cropped to 16:9.
History
Launched at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show, the Espada was Gandini's answer to a pressing commercial question: how to give Lamborghini a genuine four-seat car without sacrificing the drama of a V12. The wide, low body accommodated four adults in a relatively flat floorpan, with the 3.9-liter V12 driving through a front-mounted gearbox.
Three series were produced — S1 (1968–1970, 186 units), S2 (1970–1972, 575 units), and S3 (1972–1978, 456 units) — for a total of 1,217 cars. For much of its production life the Espada was Lamborghini's best-selling model, demonstrating that there was strong demand for a fast, practical, handsome GT from Sant'Agata.
Generations
Series I · S1
Photo: “1968-1978 Lamborghini Espada coupe 01” by OSX / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Cropped to 16:9.
Original Espada — 186 built; closest to the show-car design.
1968 Photo: “1968-1978 Lamborghini Espada coupe 01” by OSX / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Cropped to 16:9.
Series II · S2
Photo: “1970 Lamborghini Espada S2” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Best-selling series — 575 built; minor refinements to trim and power.
1970 Photo: “1970 Lamborghini Espada S2” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1972 Photo: “1972 Lamborghini Espada S2 LC23” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Series III · S3
Photo: “1975 Lamborghini Espada S3” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Final series — 456 built; power steering added, revised dash.
1974 Photo: “1974 Lamborghini Espada Series III (37789885946)” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1975 Photo: “1975 Lamborghini Espada S3” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1977 Photo: “1977 Lamborghini Espada S3” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- 4-seat coupe
Related models
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