The Lamborghini Urraco is a 2+2 sports car manufactured by Italian automaker Lamborghini, introduced at the Turin Auto Show in 1970 and marketed for 1972–1979 model years. It was named after a line of Miura-bred fighting bulls.[1]
History
The car is a 2+2 coupé with body designed by Marcello Gandini, at the time working for Carrozzeria Bertone.[2] Rather than being another range topping sports car, like the Lamborghini Miura, the Urraco was intended to be more affordable and an alternative to the contemporary Ferrari Dino, Maserati Merak and Porsche 911.[3]
The Urraco debuted as a prototype at the Turin Auto show in 1970, but took a further 2 years before production began with the P250. This was quickly revised with the P250S in 1973. Revisions for the Urraco S included full leather upholstery, tinted power windows and optional metallic paint. The engine received new Weber 40 DCNF carburetors for cars with no emission control. The P300 was introduced in 1974, featuring not only an increase in displacement to 3 liters, but also was chain driven, and featured dual overhead cams and a revised cylinder head. When production ceased in 1979, 791 Urracos had been built - Urraco P200 (77 Produced), Urraco P250 (520 produced) and Urraco P300 (190 Produced) with 2-litre, 2.5-litre, and 3-litre V8s respectively. Of the P250s, 21 were Urraco P111s (P250 Tipo 111s) for the American market. In order to comply with American regulations, these cars had larger front bumpers and emissions controls, the latter resulting in less horsepower. It is approximated that only 10% of Urracos were RHD, with the majority produced as LHD examples. The P200 was intended for domestic market, due to the Italy having a 38% VAT tax on vehicles with engine displacement over 2 litres.
The Lamborghini Silhouette, with its detachable roof panel, and its successor the Lamborghini Jalpa, with a 3.5 liter V-8 engine, were based upon the Urraco.
Specifications and performance
The Urraco initially featured a 2-litre single overhead cam crossplane V8.[4] The later 2.5-litre and 3-litre V8s employed dual overhead cams.
Sources
References
- Frank Markus. Sant'Agata Bolognese to Zaragoza, the Heming-Way Motor Trend, February 2013^
- Arnstein Landsem. The Book of the Lamborghini Urraco Veloce Publishing, Mar 15, 2011, retrieved 2012-02-08^
- Three small exotic GTs Road & Track, September 1975, retrieved 2014-09-26^
- Lamborghini Makes a Mean-Sounding V-8 Too Road & Track, 2019-03-14, retrieved 2023-10-06^