Guide: Toned Down & Tuned Up - a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Lamborghini Espada Series 2
Background
Although Ferruccio Lamborghini established his auto maker to build the kind of exquisitely engineered but conservatively styled Grand Tourers that appealed to him, within a short space of time his company was offering arguably the most outlandish vehicles on the market.
Most famous of these was the mid-engined Miura which broke cover in fully clothed trim at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966.
Next to arrive was the Gullwing-doored and rear-engined Marzal; a fully operational concept displayed at the same show a year later. The space-age four-seat Marzal inspired a more conventionally laid out production version that debuted at Geneva in March 1968: the Espada.
Although it had a front-mounted engine and doors that opened in the usual fashion, the Espada re-wrote the rule book for big Coupes thanks to an other-worldly appearance quite unlike anything else available at the time.
As per the Miura, the Espada was styled by Carrozzeria Bertone of Turin. Production started in June ‘68 and by the end of 1969, 186 Espadas had been completed.
Despite this quite acceptable level of commercial success, Lamborghini decided to broaden the Espada’s appeal. Although the exterior was left more or less unchanged, Bertone was tasked with giving the car a more conventional cockpit layout and improving build quality. Lamborghini sought to further improve the Espada by fitting it with some of the mechanical upgrades applied to the latest Miura S such as ventilated disc brakes and a more powerful engine.
Dubbed the Espada GTE but more commonly known as the Series 2, the revamped machine entered production in December 1969 and was publicly unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show in February 1970.
It joined a model line up the comprised the aforementioned Miura S and the more conservatively styled Islero S (which was replaced by the Jarama in March 1970).
Chassis
Each Espada was based around a pressed steel monocoque bodyshell. A long 2650mm wheelbase ensured sufficient cockpit space to accommodate four adult passengers.
Suspension was to the latest specification of the day: double wishbones with coil springs, telescopic Koni dampers and an anti-roll bar at either end. For this latest iteration, spring rates were slightly stiffened to improve handling.
Another update ushered in for the Series 2 Espada was the addition of ventilated disc brakes all around. As per the previous variant, these were servo-assisted components sourced from Girling. They had a 300mm diameter up front and 280mm diameter at the rear. The original Girling MkIIa brake booster was switched to an updated MkIIb unit.
Centre-lock 7 x 15-inch Campagnolo magnesium alloy wheels were imported from the Series 1 and again came shod with Pirelli Cinturato tyres.
Twin fuel tanks with a combined 95-litre capacity were mounted either side of the rear luggage area.
In addition to the uprated brakes, the Series 2 also came with constant velocity joints for the rear halfshafts and a slower steering rack (4.3 turns lock-to-lock instead of 3.8).
Engine / Gearbox
Technically, Lamborghini’s Giotto Bizzarrini-designed 60° V12 was arguably the best high performance road car engine of the time. It was an all-alloy power unit with dual overhead camshafts and wet-sump lubrication. Having initially been offered in 3.5-litre trim (for the 350 GT), it had quickly been enlarged to a four-litre displacement.
The engine used by the Espada was broadly similar to that found in the contemporary Miura. However, for reasons of longevity it ran a reduced compression ratio. In addition, sidedraught carburettors were fitted instead of downdraught assemblies to facilitate the lowest possible hood profile.
Because the Espada ran a large air-conditioning unit and servo-assisted brakes, power was 25bhp lower than the Miura. However, the four-seat model had a notably superior torque rating which was arguably more important for this type of car.
The engines fitted to the Miura S and Espada Series 2 came with bigger inlet ports than before (30mm instead of 28mm). There were also re-shaped combustion chambers and high lift camshafts. The Series 2 Espada’s compression ratio was raised from 9.5:1 to 10.7:1.
Ignition was once again via a single spark plug per cylinder, a single distributor and two Magnetti Marelli coils.
The power rating went from 325bhp at 6500rpm to 350bhp at 7500rpm.
Peak torque was now 290lb-ft at 5500rpm whereas the Series 1 had developed 276lb-ft at 4500rpm.
In comparison, the Miura S produced 370bhp at 7500rpm and 287lb-ft at 5500rpm.
The five-speed Lamborghini gearbox was mounted in unit with the engine. Transmission was through a Borg & Beck single dry-plate clutch and in-house-manufactured differential.
Bodywork
Considering the Espada design was less than two years old and its striking appearance represented a large part of the car’s appeal, wholesale cosmetic changes to the exterior were deemed unnecessary.
As a result, the only update was comparatively minor. It was made at the back of the car where the original satin black grille placed over the tail fascia screen was now left off to improve visibility.
The rest of Bertone’s Marcello Gandini-styled machine was unchanged.
Body panels were steel apart from the bonnet which was fashioned from aluminium.
Interior
Unlike the exterior, Lamborghini requested that Bertone make some major changes to the Espada’s cockpit.
The original version had incorporated an unusual Hex-themed instrument binnacle that was dropped for this latest iteration in favour of a conventional rectangular-shaped unit. It housed all the instrumentation (a total of seven gauges) plus a bank of warning lights.
The re-shaped binnacle also incorporated a new wood veneer fascia. A matching wood insert was fitted to the reconfigured dash which now housed a lockable glovebox in front of the passenger seat.
Like the dash and instrument binnacle, the centre console was also completely redesigned. Flick switches were replaced by rocker switches and vents for the fresh air system were added. A new gear knob and gear gaiter were installed.
If specified, the radio was now housed on the passenger side of the dash, just above the glovebox.
Door trim panels were redesigned.
Overall, these changes gave the Espada cabin a much more contemporary and stylish feel.
Other changes included front quarterlights that no longer opened and improved ventilation to the rear of the cockpit.
Aside from the floors and sidewalls, practically every interior surface was covered in leather. Other standard equipment included air-conditioning and electric windows.
Instrumentation comprised a large 300kmh speedo and 10,000rpm rev counter plus smaller read outs for battery voltage, oil pressure, water temperature, fuel and oil temperature.
Options
By special request, Espada buyers could order fabric upholstery, natural alloy instead of wood cockpit inserts, air-conditioning and a fixed glass roof.
A new option introduced for the Series 2 was power-assisted steering.
Weight / Performance
Although overall weight was up by 10kg (to 1635kg), performance figures were officially unchanged: Lamborghini quoted a top speed of 155mph and 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds.
VIP Options
Ten months after Series 2 production started, Lamborghini unveiled an Espada with a range of new VIP interior options at the Paris Motor Show in October 1970.
Created to illustrate just how far customers could go in terms of customisation, the Paris Show car incorporated two-tone leather upholstery, a mini-bar in the rear quarter panels and a TV mounted on the centre console.
Around a dozen Espadas are understood to have subsequently been completed with the two-tone VIP upholstery option.
Production Changes
During production, the original rear light clusters were switched to new units with a simplified three-bank design.
From spring 1972, the Espada’s centre-lock wheels were switched to a new five-bolt design as used by the Jarama S (introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1972). As before, the new rims were manufactured by Campagnolo from magnesium alloy.
End of Production
Series 2 production ended in November 1972 by which time 575 had been completed. Of these, 51 were right-hand drive.
Although Lamborghini had at one stage hoped to replace the Series 2 with an all-new model, poor trading conditions meant a further updated Series 3 iteration was introduced instead.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Lamborghini - https://www.lamborghini.com
