Marcello Gandini put his prints on many a supercar, from the Countach to the Stratos, the Miura to the Espada. Of this grouping, only the four-seat Espada is even the slightest bit practical. In fact, keep one in good tune, and it can be a daily driver/grocery getter/short road tripper, all while delivering stupendous performance. Today’s example is a 1974 Series III for sale here at LBI Limited. The asking price is $62,000; the new owner should plan to ship it from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This car is a non-running restoration project, which means the purchase price is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The four-seaters that inspired the Espada were all special in idiosyncratic ways. The Bentley R-Type Continental, launched in 1952, is considered one of the first high-performance grand touring cars. A long drought followed the extinction of this special Bentley – the last of which rolled out of the coachbuilder’s shop in 1955. But in 1960, Ferrari took up the slack, introducing the 250 GT/E. That car was succeeded by the 330 GT 2+2, then the huge 365 GT 2+2 – aka the “Queen Mother”. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Enzo Ferrari and Ferruccio Lamborghini was alive and well. The Espada was born of one-upsmanship – that underappreciated quality that begat so many cars we covet today. Bizzarrini designed the 3.9-liter V12, singing through six Webers; with a compression ratio of 10.7:1, output came to 350 hp. A five-speed manual brings power to the rear wheels. By the mid-’70s, braking was accomplished by vented Girling disks all around. LBI believes this is a one-owner vehicle, and that the odometer reading of 34,521 is original. I’d challenge that supposition, however – there’s substantial wear on the pedals, to the extent that the brake rubber has split. Original mileage or not, I’m going to hazard a guess that resurrecting this engine will cost in the neighborhood of $50k – and that might be light. One new cylinder head costs about $26k without shipping or tax….

After swallowing the engine rebuild (ignoring all the other tricky mechanical components such as the six Webers, gearbox, etc), one’s attention shifts to the interior. Nearly every nook and cranny needs attention. That pile of leather around the gearshift is cracked; the seats are worn – also belying the mileage claim; the list goes on. Then there’s the rust. The car’s underside is decent, but topside, there’s rust around the antenna (and see that split trim piece? that’s the window surround, so mark down glass removal); below one sill; and in the trunk where a tool kit still sits.

The bumper is split (maybe look into backdating this feature to the pre-safety style; they’re so much more elegant), the chrome is … shot! Better put MIE and Eurospares on speed dial. These are the later Alfa-sourced tail lights, so at least Series III owners get a break there.

The characteristic glass panel in the tail is profoundly cool. The Espada has twin fuel tanks, with fillers on both sides, hidden behind black slats in the C-pillar. These wheels are the awkward five-bolt version installed after about 1972. While the color is punchy, I’m 98% certain this car has been repainted, and not perfectly either. Overspray is evident, and the sills are rocker shutz’d – not the factory glassy finish. So what’s it worth? This solid driver with 10,000 documented miles sold for $92k this summer; here’s a lovely example that brought $114k a month earlier. These prices do not support the notion of restoring this Espada. On the other hand, our subject car could probably be profitably parted out. How would you handle this exotic project car?