When you think of an Italian hand-built V12-powered grand tourer, the Lamborghini Espada likely isn’t the first car that comes to mind. However, in the 1960s, this unusual Lamborghini offered up just that. One could argue that the Espada arrived under unusual circumstances, mainly since it followed up the industry-shocking Miura.

Unlike the Miura, however, this unusual machine had a completely different purpose. While it still houses a naturally-aspirated V12 under its hood, it gets four seats and hatchback-style rear glass. While the Miura went on to become a legend, history mostly forgot about this funky machine. As a result, used examples routinely sell for well under $100,000.

Why is the Lamborghini Espada so strange?

The Lamborghini Espada’s quirks begin with its name. Unlike most other models, which were named after famous bulls, the Espada’s name means sword. According to Lamborghini Palm Beach, this was to pay tribute to Spanish bullfighters and the swords they carried.

Marcello Gandini, designer of the Miura, Countach, and Diablo penned this unusual design. The original goal was to offer a car that could sell well alongside the Miura. It had to have a similar level of appeal but with greater practicality for daily use.

While the Lamborghini Espada might be a bit of a forgotten machine nowadays, Lamborghini Palm Beach reports that it was quite popular back in the day. In total, 1,217 cars left the production line from 1968 to 1978. While this doesn’t sound like exactly a lot, it was by far the carmaker’s best-selling model at the time.

Since the Espada didn’t have a mid-engined layout like the Miura, it had to rely on angular design to catch attention. That’s likely why nowadays it looks so strange.

Its got four seats, a rear hatch, and two doors

As you might imagine, a couple of weird design lines aren’t all that make the Lamborghini Espada a bit of a weirdo. For starters, the Espada was meant to seat four people for long journeys comfortably. Despite this, this car only had two doors, technically making it a coupe.

However, take a look at its roofline, and you’ll quickly think of a station wagon. To add a bit of extra funkiness into the mix, this Lambo even got a glass hatch in the rear. While all of these components are fine separately, they create something quite unusual when they all exist side by side.

Looks aside, the Lamborghini Espada still featured a naturally-aspirated 3.9-liter V12 under its hood, developing 325 hp. All of that power went to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.

How much does a Lamborghini Espada cost?

If you bought a Lamborghini Espada back in the 1960s, it would’ve cost you around $21,000. We’re talking about $159,839 in today’s money. However, if you wanted to buy one of these cars today, it wouldn’t take that much cash. In fact, Hagerty reports that one of these cars should cost around $71,000 on average.

As a result, you could have a brand-new Range Rover or even a Porsche 911 for that money. However, opting for the old car gets you one of the strangest machines ever made.