Who Remembers the Forgotten Lamborghini?
Lamborghini has made some of the most iconic cars of all time. Models like the Lamborghini Countach, Diablo, Muira, and even the newer Huracan will remain relevant in the car world for a long time. However, some Lamborghini models have all but been lost. The Lamborghini Urraco is an Italian supercar that many have forgotten about. Let’s take a look at the forgotten Lamborghini.
The most obscure Lamborghini
According to Sildrome, the Urraco struggled to catch any limelight given the competition of its time. Enthusiasts preferred the flashier models like the Miura and the Countach. The more modest (if any Lamborghini could be called modest) model struggled to stay competitive. Of course, this is all relative. The Urraco is still around a similar price point as other sports cars of the time, like the Ferrari Dino and Porsche 911.
The Urraco resulted from a palpable desire for mid-engined sports cars in the 1960s. Maserati and Ferrari had already worked this out before the Urraco came to the party. Silodrome explains that the Lamborghini Uracco came from an entirely new design. It had an all-new Monocoque shell and an equally new alloy V8 engine.
The Urraco was meant to be a super hit for Lamborghini
Ferruccio Lamborghini believed this new model could sell 1,000 units a year, considerably more than the normal 200-300 units yearly.
The legendary Paolo Stanzani headed this project. He designed the steel body, 2.5-liter V8, and 5-speed transmission for the Urraco. The body design was first drawn by the great Marcello Gandini, also known for designing the Countach and Miura.
Despite the car’s debut at the Turin Autoshow in 1970, the forgotten Lamborghini didn’t actually hit production until 1972. By this time, the excitement had cooled off a little, and many potential customers looking for a midengined supercar had already placed orders for the 911 or the Dino.
Urraco production ran from 1972 to 1979. Through this window, only 791 examples would be built in total. The car provided some much-needed income for the Italian automaker, but financial problems persisted, affecting the company deeply throughout the 1970s. Keep in mind the company had hoped to sell 1,000 units per year, yet it never sold over 1,000 units in nine years.
All Lambos are expensive
If you hope to be the one cat willing to buy the Lamborghini, “no one wants,” think again. What was once a black sheep is now a priced ram. The Lamborghini Urraco benefits from rarity and a sense of cultural contrarianism. These days, the rare and disliked cars of yesterday are hotly pursued. The Urraco may have spent the last few decades lost in obscurity, but it has certainly found its way out of the woods now.
