1967 | Lamborghini 400 GT

The success of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s tractor building exploits eventually allowed him to fulfil his greatest desire; to design and build his own GT car. Having owned many high performance automobiles, he saw shortcomings in all of them and was especially dismissive of his local rival Ferrari who he considered to be merely building modified race cars that lacked the quality and refinement required in a true Grand Touring car. Lamborghini commissioned Giotto Bizzarrini to design a V-12 engine and the resulting 3 ½ litre unit was bench tested in July 1963 and produced 360 horsepower. Meanwhile, for the prototype 350GTV a tubular chassis was constructed by Neri & Bonacini in Modena whilst the coupe coachwork was designed by Franco Scaglione and the completed car was displayed at the Turin Motor Show at the end of 1963. In the press there was much excitement around the V12 engine and the possibilities of a competition version but the reaction to the car’s styling was less favourable. As a result Lamborghini turned to Touring of Milan to re-style the coachwork for the production cars and in early ’64 series production of the 350GT began at Sant’ Agata, under the direction of Gianpaolo Dallara. The first production car was displayed at Geneva in March ’64 and received a much more positive critical response. For 1965 a 4 litre version of the V12 was developed and shown for the first time at the New York Motor Show in April of that year.

At the Geneva Show in 1966 Lamborghini launched the new 400GT model, offering occasional rear seats and more luggage space. The design of the 350GT was tweaked by Touring to free up the extra space with an altered roofline and revised fuel tank and the new car was easily identifiable by its quad-headlamp setup. Production of the 400GT model ceased at the end of 1968 following the introduction of the Islero and Espada. In period the 400GT was noted for its refinement when compared to its Ferrari rivals, especially its low cabin noise and comfortable ride - both priorities to Ferruccio when he was developing his cars.

This car, chassis number 1063 (engine 1052), was dispatched to the USA and the extensive history file contains an original letter from the distributor, Jake Kaplan’s Lamborghini East, to the car’s first owner John A. Conde. Conde was a noted automotive historian who spent 32 years as the public relations director at American Motors and was the curator of transportation at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. In the 1990’s the 400GT returned to Europe via the UK and in 1994 was purchased by Heribert Meller in Germany who had various restoration works carried out by Mathias Rapp in Cologne. In 2013, the car was purchased by its most recent owner and a comprehensive restoration to the highest standards was immediately commissioned, to return the car to its original specification. The coachwork was refinished in Blue Notte, whilst the interior was reupholstered in the correct Senape leather, both to exact factory standards. Mechanical aspects were taken care of by Lamborghini specialist Wolfgang Instinski with thorough overhauls of the engine, gearbox and suspension. A full record of this restoration work, including invoices and photographs, is available for inspection. The car has gone on to win first place awards at concours events.