1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2
Lamborghini’s indelible mark on the automotive world dates to 1963, when Feruccio Lamborghini expanded from building tractors to building world-class sports cars that competed directly with Ferrari. The first Lamborghini production car was the 350GT; hand built, designed and bodied by Touring, and powered by an exotic, state of the art 3.5L V12, the 350GT shocked and awed both the general public and the motoring press upon its debut at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show.
By 1966, after two years of refinements and updates to the 350GT, it was decided internally at Lamborghini that the 350GT was in need of a larger, more potent heart, and it was on the back of this idea that the 400GT was born. The 3.5L V12, designed by famed engine architect and ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarini, received an increased bore and compression ratio, bringing total displacement to 4.0L. Sporting the requisite six Weber 40 DCOE carburetors, the new 4.0L V12 produced a prodigious 320hp, allowing owners to tour the continent in both speed and style.
The 400GT also heralded the introduction of a fully synchronized five-speed gearbox that was designed and built in-house at Lamborghini. Featuring Porsche-style synchronizers, the new five-speed gearbox provided a superior driving experience to the outgoing 350GT’s ZF transmission. The four wheel independent suspension was also overhauled and re-engineered by Lamborghini to improve and refine the car’s road handling capabilities and manners. The revised Touring bodywork for the 400GT 2+2 was magnificently and timelessly elegant, featuring narrow sweeping pontoon fenders, and a swept back arching roofline meeting the rear decklid. In period, the 400GT was favorably reviewed against it’s Ferrari contemporaries in both the handling and power departments; Lamborghini had an instant classic on their hands. During its production run from 1966 to 1968, 224 of the tantalizingly gorgeous Grand Tourers met the road, providing a comfortably appointed and capable cruiser for up to four occupants in resplendent Italian style and flair, before being replaced with the Islero.
The Cultivated Collector’s 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2, chassis 0838, was delivered new to Italy and is a numbers matching, highly original example with only 12,815 km from new. 0838 spent a significant portion of its life as part of the esteemed Nebraska’s Merrick Auto Museum’s collection, which accounts for the car’s spare use. The fetching rosso paint presents impeccably today, with little wear, and no indication of any prior accident repairs. Shortly after leaving the museum in 2018, 0838 was subject to an extensive mechanical reconditioning, ensuring the car would perform flawlessly in the grand touring capacity for which it was built. 0838 is a stunning, no-excuses journey into the fascinating world of early Lamborghinis; highly original, low kilometers, and with a recent and extensive mechanical recommissioning, 0838 is ready to join any discerning collector’s garage.
