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1 of 21 US Cars: 1975 Lamborghini Urraco

The Lamborghini Urraco is a rarely-seen 2+2 offering from the Italian sports car builder and part of that crop of vintage Lamborghinis with a backseat that seemingly fly below the radar of many collectors. At the very least, they are generally not as sought-after, which is a shame considering how special these cars still are. The Urraco shown here is one of 12 U.S.-market cars, which means it came with the uglier safety bumpers per U.S. highway code and aV8 engine that made less horsepower than its overseas counterparts. Still, it’s a tidy example of a car that doesn’t come up for sale often. Find it here on craigslist for $75,000 near Fort Collins.

The Urraco featured a mid-engine V8 setup, obviously paired with a manual gearbox. The backseat may have been a turn-off for many exotic car shoppers, but the Urraco seemingly hid its extra cargo capacity quite well. Just looking at it, you might not think there’s even a backseat hiding behind the driver and passenger buckets. The Urraco isn’t necessarily high on the list of Italian car collectors, as it wasn’t particularly powerful and some parts are incredibly hard to find. Still, if you’ve been priced out of the Countach or Muira market, a car like the Urraco makes strong sense.

The seller’s car looks terrific in this shade of fly yellow with black accents, although I do wish it had a black leather interior. The bodywork appears sound with no evidence of major rust or other damage to address. The U.S.-spec bumpers should be swapped out for the prettier Euro-market examples if you can find them, but I wouldn’t touch much else on the outside. The seller confirms that the mileage of just under 26,000 is original, so like most exotics, it hasn’t seen much use over the years. Still, it would be critical (for me, at least) to see a thick stack of records before buying a vintage Italian exotic.

The engine has been upgraded slightly with four Weber twin downdraft carburetors, an Ansa exhaust system, and European-market headers. It should make a fairly glorious noise with those modifications, and I love that this Urraco has been improved in some very critical ways without distorting its highly original appearance. I might throw in an electronic ignition to round out the subtle modifications that make it into more of a daily-friendly driver, especially since among older Lamborghinis, a Urraco – like an Espada or a Jalpa – is a vintage sports car you can feel OK driving a few times a week with the added bonus of being able to take a few friends along for the ride.  Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for the find.

Comments

  1. Avatar nlpnt

    I love the color combination, maybe it’s the scale-modeller in me but I tend to avoid black interiors; a light beige like this shows off the detail so much better. Makes the interior feel more spacious and airy on a real car too.

    Like 9
  2. Avatar Bruce

    If you think it looks good in photos you should see it in person. These are one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The interiors are not for everybody and my Esprit Turbo fits me better but it is still comfortable. I do not know about how easy or difficult they are to work on as I only got close once but they are breath taking in person. I am not so certain about the ARREST ME YELLOW color but it is most certainly hard to miss. The one I saw was a soft light metallic blue with a tan interior.
    This is one car to Lust over even if it is not that fast as some econo boxes.

    Like 9
  3. Avatar Howie

    Very nice!! Only 4 photos and posted 8 days ago.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Howie

      I see this morning i spoke to soon, his link will take you to 52 photos and a video, i would luv to have this, and i think the price is fair.

      Like 1
  4. Avatar douglas hunt

    I like it !!! Has a great shape, no bad areas to me. Sometimes these exotics are fantastic from a certain perspective, then you see the next quarter view and oops-what were they thinking, but this car has no bad angles, at least to me.
    of course it’s still way above my pay grade, lol

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Uno Junghans

    When you use them they work great. Standing still for long periods is not good. I have driven mine 40.000 km / 25.000 miles over my 10 years of ownership.

    Like 2
  6. Avatar Maestro1

    I had one bought from a Swiss Architect in San Francisco that needed a water pump and a clutch. It was Cobalt Blue with a Tan Interior. I loved it. I used it as a commute car to and from the City, and it behaved in a very trouble free fashion after some minor surgery. I remember registering the car in California
    (he was driving on Swiss Plates) was very exciting. And expensive. Don’t do it.
    I sold the car after a year for a good profit and am reminded of it the few times
    I see one. I don’t know why anybody thinks the car is slow. It isn’t. Andit’s exciting as hell to drive. Thanks for the memories……….

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Doyler

    Step 1 – remove Americanization.
    Step 2 – enjoy.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Ed Sel

    Is anybody else struck by the resemblance to the Pantera – De Thomaso/Mangusta? (or vice versa)? IT had the Ford mid-engine – here’s the story – https://drive-my.com/1967-de-tomaso-mangusta-vs-1971-pantera-gts/

    I didn’t know of the Argentinian back-story on the Pantera – you still see them come up for sale regularly – not so much the Mangusta.

    Like 0
    • Avatar B Wallace

      Exactly what I thought especially the front and rear end views. And from the side it looks like a Pantera Extended Cab. Did they have the same Designer?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Chris H

        The Urraco was designed by Bertone and the Pantera by Ghia. Both designed in the late 1960s.

        Like 0
  9. Avatar Chris H

    I recently parted with my Tipo 111. It looks almost exactly like this. See lambomiura.com. I had it for 30 years and really loved it. They are great and rare cars. They’re pretty quick (by 1970 standards) and handle great. Someone will have a lot of fun with this. Chris H

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Chris H

    It wasn’t upgraded with four Webers. That’s the way they come. Four IDEs.

    Like 1

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