1965 350 GT

Ferruccio
Lamborghini had built a significant amount of wealth as a tractor
builder. When he bought a Ferrari he expected a vehicle with superior
performance and few problems. What he got was a car that did have
superior performance but was plagued with mechanical difficulties. Upon
returning the vehicle to the Ferrari shop and complaining about the
lack of build quality, Enzo Ferrari replied 'You should stick with
building tractors and let me concern about the cars.' Ferruccio was so
enraged, that he began a new quest - to build proper supercars that had
performance and quality.Bizzarini, a brilliant engineer,
had just left Ferrari and was a suitable candidate to build Lamborghini
a twelve-cylinder engine. Franco Scaglione, an employee of Sargiotto
located in Turin, was tasked with designing a new vehicle for the newly
formed Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. Scaglione's resume
included work such as the Alfa Romeo BATs and the ATS 2500 GT.
Sargiotto Bodyworks were responsible for the metal work while Neri
& Bonacini were given the task of building the square tube steel
chassis. The result was a prototype labeled the Lamborghini 350 GTV
and first displayed at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. The interior was
leather while the finish was a bright metallic blue color. The engine
was not installed in the car because it would not fit. The vertical
carburetors were too large and did not fit under the hood. Only
recently has the vehicle been restored and the chassis was altered to
allow room for the engine.After the Turin Show, Carlo
Anderloni of Touring was brought in to redesign the 350 and prepare it
for production. The design was smoothed out and the pop-up headlights
were replaced with units that were gracefully incorporated into the
hood of the vehicle. The 3.5-liter V12 with twin overhead camshafts and
six twin-choke Weber carburetors was placed horizontally between the
camshafts in order to fit under the hood. Along with the redesign, the
engine was detuned because Ferruccio Lamborghini desired a smooth
running, refined engine rather than a highly-tuned racing power-plant.
Horsepower dropped from 350 to 270. A 320 horsepower version was
available as optional equipment.In 1964 Ferruccio Lamborghini debuted the production version, the 350 GT,
the V had been dropped, to the public at the Geneva Auto Show. The car
was powered by a Giotto Bizzarini designed 12-cylinder engine, sat atop
a tubular steel chassis, and featured independent suspension and a ZF
gearbox. Disc brakes were placed on all four tires. This was
Lamborghini's first serial-production GT vehicle. Producing 280
horsepower, the 350 GT was a formidable contender with the other
super-cars of the day. Two shortened chassis's were sent
to Zagato, renowned for their lightweight construction, to create
alternative creations to the Touring design. Ercole Spada of Zagato was
given the task of designing the body. The result was a very elegant
coupe that drew inspiration from previous work such as Lancia and Alfa
Romeo racers. It was shown at the 1965 London Motor Show under the name
Lamborghini 3500 GTZ. Only two examples were ever created. One
was retained by the factory while the other was sold to a customer
after the show. Another coachbuilding factory was
commissioned in the mid-1960s to create a mid-engined supercar. It was
known as the Miura and was powered by a four-liter V12. In 1966 the
four-liter engine was available in the front-engined Lamborghini as
optional equipment. This version became known as the 400 GT. A few examples were built before it was replaced by the 400 GT 2+2.
The two-plus-two configuration made the supercar a little more
practical, allowing room for additional occupants in the rear seats.
The design of the 2+2 varied slightly from the 400 GT. The 2+2 was
constructed of steel while the 400 GT used aluminum. The most
distinguishable difference was the double-oval headlights in the front
of the 2+2. In 1966 a Lamborghini 400 GT Monza
prototype was created that carried the mechanical components of
Lamborghini with styling reminiscent of Ferrari's legendary 250 GTO
series. The design was handled by Neri & Bonacini and was shown to
the public at the 1966 Barcelona Motor Show. It was sold to a wealthy
Spanish individual who used the vehicle as a daily driver. It was put
into storage in the early 1970's with the odometer reading just 7,000
km's. It remained in possession of the family until the owner's death
in the mid-2000's. Bonham's Auction had the pleasure of offering the
vehicle up for auction at the 2005 London Olympia sale where it was
sold for $315,000. During its introductory year, only
thirteen examples of the 350 GT version were created. Around 120
examples were created in total and all were mostly hand-built. Since
these were mostly hand-built, specifications and designs may vary. For
example, most of the 400 GTs intended for the US market were given four
round headlights, however, a few had larger oval units that were common
on the 350 GT. There were about 224 examples of the 400 GT 2+2 constructed. Five examples being right-hand drive. The
350/400 GT Series represent Lamborghini's intention to construct the
finest Grand Touring autombiles ever assembled. Many automotive
journalists at the time hailed the cars as being better than equivalent
exotic machinery.

1965 Lamborghini 350 GT
Year	1965
Make	Lamborghini
Model	350 GT
Engine Location	Front
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Body Material	Steel body on tubular steel frame
Production Years for Series	1964 - 1966
Body Designer	Touring
Weight	2310 lbs | 1047.8 kg
Introduced At	1964 Geneva Salon

Performance
0-60 mph	7.4 seconds.
Top Speed	250 km/h | 155.4 mph Similar top speeds

Engine
Engine Configuration	V
Cylinders	12
	Solid valve lifters
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	3464.00 cc | 211.4 cu in. | 3.5 L.
Valvetrain	DOHC
Horsepower	280.00 HP (206.1 KW) @ 6500.00 RPM
Torque	227.00 Ft-Lbs (307.8 NM) @ 4800.00 RPM
HP to Weight Ratio	8.3 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio)
HP / Liter	80.0 BHP / Liter
Compression Ratio	9.0:1
Main Bearings	7
Fuel Feed	Carburetor
	6 Weber 2-barrel carburetors
	Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight

Transmission Information
Gears	5
Transmission	Manual