The Lamborghini Espada arrived during a period of success for Lamborghini. Though a mere five years old in 1968, Lamborghini was booming. The Lamborghini Espada’s distinctive styling was inspired by the Bertone-designed Marzal show car of 1966. The one-off’s all-glass gullwing doors, honeycomb dash and backlight sunshade motif, and rear (not midships) engine positioning were abandoned, but the basic shape was retained. Like the Lamborghini Miura, the Lamborghini Espada was penned by Marcello Gandini.
The Espada was a real head-turner, another feather in Bertone’s — not to mention Lamborghini’s — cap. A simple nose with circular quad headlamps announced a very wide hood with twin NACA ducts to feed the 4.0-liter V-12’s six twin-throat Weber carburetors. Front fenderlines blended seamlessly into the belt, which curved up at the rear to meet an almost horizontal roofline terminating in a chopped tail with a full-width glass panel below the backlight (presumably to give the driver a better view of those trying to keep pace). Once more, hood and upper fenders formed a forward-hinged unit for easier access to a very full engine bay. Only 37 Lamborghini Espadas were built during 1968, but volume soon rose to a steady, albeit low, level. The Espada made an excellent stablemate for the mid-engine Lamborghini Miura (and, later, the Lamborghini Countach) and its basic chassis would be used for the Jarama (see entry), which replaced the Lamborghini Islero in 1970.