The word ‘Lamborghini’ conjures up a very specific image – a low-slung, wedge-shaped hypercar with a mid-mounted engine, often being revved outside of a nightclub by an owner with more dollars than sense. And though Lamborghinis have been this way for decades now, they weren’t always so formulaic. In fact, for the first ten years of Lamborghini’s existence as a carmaker, they focused primarily on grand tourers.
It’s the type of car the company’s founder liked, after all. And here we have an example of an often-forgotten car from the early days of the Raging Bull that falls into said category. But just because it’s ignored that doesn’t mean the Jarama isn’t important. Would you believe that, out of all the cars his company made, this one was Ferruccio Lamborghini’s favorite?
image credit: Volkswagen; wikipedia user Ralf Roletschek
The story of how tractor-manufacturer Lamborghini came to build sports cars is well known, but I’ll give the Cliff’s Notes version anyway. Frustrated by a faulty clutch in his Ferrari, businessman and engineer Ferruccio Lamborghini sent a letter to the storied company complaining of his car’s poor quality. He received a reply from Enzo Ferrari himself, dismissing his concerns and stating that Lamborghini should stick to tractors. So incensed by this snub, Lamborghini took to building a world-class sports car of his own to compete with the arrogant Ferrari.
And thus, a feud between two hot-headed wealthy Italians changed the landscape of motoring forever. Lamborghini’s first car, the 350 GT as featured above, was a GT car powered by a V12 of the company’s own design, and made its debut in 1964. From here, Automobili Lamborghini was off to the races. Or, more aptly, the Running of the Bulls; Ferruccio was a big fan of bullfighting, after all.
And though Lamborghini truly made a name for itself when it introduced the breathtakingly-gorgeous mid-engined Miura to the world in 1967, the majority of the company’s offerings for its first ten years were GT cars. The 350 GT gave way to the 400 GT, which gave way to the Islero. In 1968, a larger car, the above Espada, was added to the lineup for Lambo owners who needed a bit more interior room. All models made by Lamborghini, save for the Miura, were traditional front-engined, rear-wheel-drive cars with highly-appointed interiors and daring styling. GT cars worthy of Ferruccio himself.
Lamborghini made tracks fast, and especially in the early days, it never stood still. And in 1970, instead of updating the slow-selling Islero to meet new safety regs, Ferruccio put the lame bull out to pasture and introduced a totally new car to replace it – the Jarama. Based on a shortened version of the Espada platform and sharing the same 3.9 liter v12 as its stablemates, the Jarama was a smaller GT, designed with the American market in mind. In addition to all the tried and true Lamborghini elements, the Jarama also featured striking styling by Bertone, showing off the wedge shape the 70s would come to love before it was cool.
Should be a recipe for success, right? Well, the Jarama didn’t exactly stampede onto the auto market. From 1970-76, Lamborghini only managed to get 326 examples out of the pen. In that time, it was common for expensive, niche cars to only move a handful of units – unlike the Lambo of today that churns out thousands of cars per year – but the Jarama was an especially slow seller. Its big brother, the Espada, sold four times as many units, and even the far less practical Miura doubled the Jarama in sales.
Sales weren’t helped by the Oil Crisis of 1973, and Lamborghini as a whole really struggled throughout the entirety of the decade. Ferruccio sold the company, and its new owners fared poorly, as the company went bankrupt in 1978. But as we know, the bull was spared from the matador’s blade, and Lamborghini continues to fight on to this day. Unfortunately, Lambo’s grand tourers didn’t fare as well. The Jarama was gone in ’76, and the Espada got the cut two years later. From there, Lamborghini went all-in on mid-engined hypercars. But taking one look at this Jarama’s interior, I can tell you with certainty that I’d rather spend a day wrapped up in these leather seats than in the cramped, loud cockpit of an archetypical Lambo.
Y’all ever see a backwards radio before? Though the seats look comfy, like many exotics of this era, the ergonomics of the interior are a little janky. As this article by the Autopian details, the Jarama actually had four distinct radio placements during its six-year production run; though this one is certainly the least user-friendly. Trying to find a radio station playing the latest ELO single in your new Jarama? Good luck tuning that sucker without completely taking your eyes off the road.
This example is for sale, too. If you have to ask how much it costs, then you’re probably like me and have zero chance of being able to afford it. A girl can always dream, though.
But even though the Jarama didn’t make a huge splash on its launch, it did have one fan though: its creator. Yes, the Jarama was Ferruccio Lamborghini’s favorite car that came out of his company. Claiming it to be the perfect compromise between the Miura and the Espada, Ferruccio ordered a Jarama for himself, and used it as his daily driver for many years. The Matador himself would say the Jarama was perfect “if you just want to have one car,” so worry not, little Jarama; at least your papa loves you.
And in the modern day, though overshadowed by the likes of later cars like the Countach and Diablo, the Jarama is still appreciated today. Our featured yellow car was the winner of the Lamborghini class in this year’s Vintage Grand Prix Cortile Cup, so there’s a few fans of this car nowadays, too. Count me as one of them: I like the Jarama a lot more than the hypermobiles Lamborghini makes these days.
And I’d argue that the Jarama got the last laugh. As can be seen hiding in the background of my Espada pic, Lamborghini’s best-seller in the current day is the Urus SUV – a comfortable, well-appointed four-seater with a big front-mounted engine. Maybe it’s a little chunky to be a traditional grand tourer, but the Urus certainly has a lot more in common with the Jarama than it does an Aventador. Ciao Bella, Jarama.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1972 Lamborghini Espada S2 – An Exotic Blends With The Locals
Vintage R&T Review: 1967 Lamborghini Espada – The Lamborghini Of Personal Luxury Coupes
About radio placements , this is why there are pre-set modes for entering stations. Sometimes it is much easier to have the radio placed in a place easily accessible with the tips of your fingers like here.
Yes, the original GT format just didn’t hold up for Lamborghini, and it became less important for Ferrari too. The gravity of the market shifted substantially to the smaller mid-engine V8-powered 308 family for Ferrari, but Lamborghini’s similar-format Jalpa never really took off. That left just the V12 mid-engine Countach, and Lamborghini became a one-trick pony, until more recent years.
The Jarama is handsome, but not exactly perfect either. My biggest issue is that the big rear wheel opening is too close to the rear window’s lower edge. It looks like the whole thing was sectioned, and now it doesn’t quite work anymore.
Im not a huge fan of the front engine GT cars Lamborghini first made. Like Paul said, the Jamara is a very striking car, but there are a few things that seem “off” about the design. I thought the previous Islero was a much prettier car. But if you wanted an Italian GT car in the late 60s, I always thought the Maserati Ghibli was the sexiest one by a good margin.
Awkward styling from a master. I think the reason Ferruccio liked it so much was the fact that he only wanted to make a gentleman’s GT, and this one had better performance than its predecessors. Not that he thought it looked so good.
Before the Miura tub was shown in late 1965, Ferruccio thought that ad-hoc project by his staffers would really only be a halo, maybe selling about 30 units per year. Then the crowds at the Turin Show freaked out at the tub, and he realised it might just be a bigger thing. But it was not really in his plans.
He had actually briefed Touring for a four-door gentlemen’s GT when the Miura brief intervened.
Did Touring do any sketches?
It’s hard to credit that the designer of the Muira, Marzal and Countach LP400 could also come up with this. They are each a masterwork: the old Hairyarmor appears entirely ill-conceived, and assuredly unfinished. The Espada – a car I really like – has enough length to wear its exceptionally generous width – this doesn’t, and perhaps it’s the limitations of used a chopped Espada base that’s caused all the trouble.
Perhaps Ferrucio himself wasn’t fussy about looks generally, and perhaps that’s why he gave such free reign to someone like Ghandini (simply trusting a stylist to know what to do)? That is, perhaps he was a successful industrialist who just knew how to get things made but had no eye (or much care) for looks.
“You should stick to tractors.” What a diss! If I had the means, I would have started my own company, too.
Another fantastic piece. Lamborghini of the ’70s fascinates me. Just looking at the Jarama and from only an aesthetic perspective, I am also left scratching my head as to this being its creator’s favorite. I kinda, sorta like the hooded headlamps, but I’m left largely unmoved by its overall shape. This is a gorgeous example, though, and I love it in yellow with that tan leather interior.