Lamborghini Espada News

Seeing more than 100 Lamborghinis travelling in a rapid convoy is not one of the world’s more common sights, but that’s exactly what the supercar maker’s recent celebration of its 50th anniversary managed to create. The event saw 350 of the raging bull-badged models converge on Lamborghini’s home town of Sant’Agata in Italy.  Despite far from ideal supercar weather, a keen Lamborghini fan managed to capture at least 100 of the celebrating Lambos converge on a hairpin bend in procession. The convoy is somewhat of a walk down Lamborghini memory lane, with a 350GT, a couple of Muiras, Espadas and Countaches, a few Diablos, several Gallardo, Murcielago and Aventadors -- all displaying their distinctive visual and audible wares. For the keen-eyed, at least four of the Aventadors can be seen puffing blue flames from their exhaust orifices on overrun.   Watch the Lamborghini hairpin convoy video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

Penned by the legendary Marcello Gandini of Bertone, it was first revealed at the 1967 Geneva Motor show at a time when good things were happening at Lamborghini. The young Italian marque already had the 400GT and the gorgeous Muira in its stable, and was ready to grow some more.The Espada soon became Lamborghini’s most successful model at the time with 1217 examples built. It was originally fitted with a 4.0litre V12 engine that produced 325bhp(242kW). It featured fully independent suspension and four wheel disc brakes and most of the cars had a manual transmission, although there were some automatics built too, from 1974 onwards.Over its ten year existence, three different series of the Espada were produced, all with only minor exterior changes and engine improvements - it was on the inside where the big changes were carried out. The series two version got a completely new dashboard and steering wheel and there were also significant changes for the series three interior. Power steering was offered in 1970 and in 1974 there was the choice of automatic transmission.In 1975 United States safety requirements saw the installation of side impact bumpers – a change that enthusiasts consider to be the birth of the series four Espada, although officially it was still the series three.A four door Espada was designed by Bertone near the end of production in 1978, but it was never made.