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4-Seat Exotic: 1972 Lamborghini Jarama S Project

The 2+2 Italians are a chronically underappreciated lot, but if you follow this genre of sports cars, it’s not hard to see why traditional collectors vie away from them. You have all of the upkeep of a vintage Italian sports car without the same level of desirability that drives the sky-high prices cars like the Ferrari Daytona and Lamborghini Countach tend to command. However, given that anything under $100,000 in this segment of vehicles could be considered a bargain, it may make cars like this rare Lamborghini Jarama “S” worth a look, even if it needs a head gasket repair. Find the Jarama here on eBay with an asking price of $97,500 and the option to submit a best offer.

Personally, I love the 2+2 Ferraris and Lamborghinis from this era. Anytime a collectible or vintage vehicle provides some extra utility, I am all about it, as a practical sports car is one you can use for more than just a solo blast down some back roads. Letting your spouse come along for the ride or packing the kids in the back can transform a solitary experience into one everyone can enjoy. And, given this is a Jarama “S”, they’ll enjoy the benefits of additional horsepower as well thanks to the adjustments made to the exhaust system, heads, and carburetor.

And while you and your cruising companions may be chomping at the bit to slide into the cherry red leather interior, the Jarama shown here will need some mechanical attention before too many miles are logged. The selling dealer reports that “….there is a breach from a combustion chamber somewhere as it starts to get hot during a short drive, and is also getting moisture into the oil.” The listing goes on to say that this can be caused by a leaking head gasket or a crack in the casting. As someone who just learned a truck I own with an inline six needs a new headgasket, I can only imagine the repair bill for the same job on an Italian V12.

The fire extinguishers front and rear seem like a feature often associated with European-market cars where fire impression devices are often required for highway use. However, this Jarama has been in the United States for decades, so I suspect it is a model allocated for the U.S. market. While many 2+2 GTs like this car came with a three-speed automatic transmission, the Jarama S has the preferred 5-speed manual transmission. With under 50,000 original miles, the Jarama S would seemingly have many good years left for highway and secondary road travel, so hopefully, the next owner will get the cooling system issues sorted out before too long.

Comments

  1. Avatar alphasud Member

    Beautiful car I would definitely own over a Countach. Roll your dice and take a gamble with this one. More than likely after the engine has been pulled the only right way to go about this is a rebuild. Time to binge watch Harry’s Garage on YouTube. An example on how to have your Lamborghini engine rebuilt. I would personally do the job myself.

    Like 10
  2. Avatar angliagt Member

    I think the head gasket repair is the tip of the iceberg on
    this one,otherwise I’d think that the seller would have that done
    & get more money for it.

    Like 14
  3. Avatar GIJOOOE

    380 hp from a 3.9 liter V12, I can only imagine how glorious this thing sounds at 8,000 rpm’s. And you can scare the crap out of 3 of your favorite people while doing it! But real talk- you better have really deep pockets for something like this Lamborghini, or have the skills to fix it yourself because it’s gonna be a pretty penny to get it back on the road and running right, that’s for sure. But how many people get to make the claim that they have a V12 Lamborghini that seats 4? Not many, I’m betting. And you’d definitely be a hit at every cars & coffee or show and shine. Imagine hitting the top speed of 165+ mph on early 70’s tire technology, that would be a trip!

    Like 10
  4. Avatar Big C

    Only $97k for the admission price? Then the real cash outlays begin. But, in reality, the guy that buys this thing more than likely will have his mechanic deliver it to the summer house, when it’s sorted.

    Like 10
  5. Avatar TomP

    Another Gullwing car flip.

    Like 2
    • Avatar angliagt Member

      Attempted flip.

      Like 1
  6. Avatar Brian S

    Considering Hagerty lists a #3 condition Jarama at $60K, the price on this one seems about $40K too high. And with a leaking headgasket or worse, this one isn’t condition 3.

    Like 21
    • Avatar Frank Sumatra

      The Voice of Reason.Thank you.

      Like 10
  7. Avatar Beyfon

    This car revives a strange but fun memory. It was the summer of 1981 and I had traveled to Stockholm Sweden as an 18 year old kid who had never really been there before. One day walking down a street I saw a sketchy car dealership in the basement of a building, and they seemed to have some interesting cars so I walked down to ramp to take a closer look. One of the cars was a -72 Jarama painted in some hideous black and purple color scheme. Still a cool car to see, and something that I had never seen in the rural areas where I grew up. Out comes a fairly young salesman asking me if I was interested in the car, which I duly denied as it must have been fully obvious that I was only a wide-eyed hillbilly with maybe $50 in my bank account. “Let me explain” said the salesman. “I have never been allowed to drive this car, but our manager is out of town today. So if you say that you are interested I’ll give him a call and explain that I have a customer here and if he gives me the green light we can take it out for a spin”. Wow.
    Sure enough, after a while the guy comes back with some nice sunglasses on, fires it up and takes it out on the street. “Let’s go, I’ll drive first and then later we’ll switch.” He took it out of Stockholm and headed South on the highway towards Nynashamn, and boy did it sound good through the tunnels! He tested the performance a bit, but eventually took an exit, pulled over and let me drive it back. What can I say? It wasn’t the greatest car I’ve ever driven, somewhat heavy – more Ford Mustang than Lotus Elan! But still like winning the lottery without even having bought a ticket! I took it easy, and carefully brought it back but couldn’t help noticing that the temp gauge kept creeping higher at each traffic light. We finally get to the dealership and as I park outside there’s just this huge cloud of coolant coming from the gaps around the hood. The salesman was panicking a bit and as he was hurrying in for help I decided that it seemed wisest to discreetly walk away.
    I have no idea what I did during the rest of that visit, but the weird experience with the Jarama will be remembered until I die!

    Like 20
    • Avatar Gerard Member

      THAT’S THE CAR, man!!!

      Like 1
  8. Avatar david r

    If you expect to get almost a hundred grand for a car, get it running. Sheesh.

    Like 6
  9. Avatar Howie

    It ended, but i am sure they still have it. Yes it is Gullwing.

    Like 4
  10. Avatar Steve

    $97,500 to purchase, $200,000 to restore.

    Like 2
  11. Avatar Bareman

    100k for a 2nd rate Italian 2+2 with a blown engine. Dream on.

    Honestly, if this was in my shop/ paddock I would have fixed it and made it much more valuable. What dealer mechanic wouldn’t? Major red flags on this one when a professional (owner) punts on a repair and is vague as to what the actual problem is. Buyer beware.

    Like 8
  12. Avatar Dr Ron

    Yep…
    About $40K too high.

    If I had that kind of scratch laying around for a single car purchase I’d pop for a Base 1973 Pantera in “Good” #3 condition. For around $85K.

    I’d be okay a somewhat hot and uncomfortable interior but having a built 351 Cleveland would be fine with me.

    And I could drive it like I stole it.

    Like 2
  13. Avatar tcbob Member

    It might have only(!) been a head gasket at first, but if the car has been run and over heated often as seems to be suggested by the text on the GW Motors website, it is unlikely that just a gasket will now fill the gap that probably exists between the warped head and warped block. I agree with the comment asking price is “$40K too high”. That’s about what it will take to rebuild the engine properly and make a 2- /3+ of the car.

    Like 0

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