Lamborghini Espada 400 GT: Taurus for four

When you slide into it, you feel as if you are sitting in a comfortable beach chair on a magic carpet, the darted just above the ground under avenue trees. This is how this wonderful L amborghini Espada over land from Meine to Wolfsburg. However, no wind blows in your face, because the Lamborghini Espada is a four-seater coupé that is powered by a 350 hp, four-liter V12 engine. You can even hear the two ignition distributors, four overhead camshafts and 24 valves working quite audibly.

The magic carpet offers comfort and all-round visibility

It is a pithy buzzing and growling, accompanied by a silky, low-vibration engine run. With increasing speed, the pitch changes in an unobtrusive glissando upwards, without the machine of the Lamborghini Espada gets much louder. The exhaust discreetly holds back with brass noises, which cannot be said of the modern Lamborghini models.

The flying carpet effect of the Lamborghini Espada is the result of a chassis set-up that is quite comfortable for a sports coupé and the Bertone body, which is still futuristic today. In the style of the late 1960s, the sleek and straight-lined coupé shows extremely large window areas: thin A and B-pillars, a low belt line and window cutouts that extend far into the roof rigorously contradict today's trend towards rounded, less transparent roof shapes. Even the upper half of the fastback stern, which has been cut off with a knife, is made of glass.

The driver therefore looks out of the Lamborghini Espada in all directions almost unhindered - like on a magic carpet. In front of him lies a low instrument panel richly equipped with eight round clocks. Even part of the bonnet can be seen from above despite the flat seating position.

However, the casual beach lounger position behind the valance of the Lamborghini Espada does not quite correspond to the inventor's intention. A six-foot man who is comfortableWhen the driver's seat is seated, the tips of his hair scrape against the roof lining and his knees against the low-lying steering wheel, which also covers the speedometer scale in the 100 km /h range. So it's better to slide a few centimeters down on the leather seat - and the Lamborghini Espada fits.

Spacious and comfortable Gran Turismo

Co-driver and Lambo owner Wilfried Bockelmann does the same when he does drives, and also gives the reason for it: 'Company boss Ferrucio Lamborghini, who has always tested his cars himself, was not particularly big. If everything was in order and he could sit properly, he found the model ready for series production. But now give it a try a lot of gas. ' As desired, the foot presses the pedal down. While the Lamborghini Espada is rapidly picking up speed, the pedal travel seems to never end. 'The six double carburetors and the resulting restoring forces are the cause of the long pedal travel. At that time there was no drive by wire,' says Bockelmann, delighted with this peculiarity. The same applies to the precisely working five-speed gearbox, which, despite the short shaft, forces the driver to move almost like arm wrestling.

On the way to the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, which with its museums and modern brand pavilions is to serve as a photo backdrop , tells the Lamborghini Espada owner how he got his car. Incidentally, it is not the first classic from the former head of development at Skoda and Volkswagen. Bockelmann's fleet includes a Skoda Felicia Cabrio from 1963, one of the last Austin Healey built in 1967, a red Beetle Ultima Edition from 2004 from Mexico and various motorcycles. What was missing, however, was a sporty Italian, preferably with twelve cylinders.

The Espada was the wife's first choice

The fact that it was a Lamborghini is for the former Volkswagen man Almost a matter of honor: for exactly ten years the sports cars from Sant'Agata have been enriching the brand portfolio of the Volkswagen Group with great sales success. Bockelmann originally thought of a Lamborghini 400 GT, the very first Lamborghini model, initially presented as a 350 GT in 1964, also with a V12 engine. 'But my wife's back hurt after a test drive in a 400 GT, so she didn't want the car,' reports the former VW board member. In a spacious Lamborghini Espada with its comfortable leather seats, which are exactly the same in the back as in the front row, the wife would have felt much more comfortable.

Objective elegance without macho behavior

In autumn 2004, Bockelmann acquired his silver Lamborghini Espada built in 1975 from the first owner. The coupé belonged to an auditor in Braunschweig who hadn't moved the car for ten years because he didn't want to damage it. The odometer read only 32,000 kilometers. The separation from his Lamborghini Espada is the manIt was difficult, reports Bockelmann: 'But when he saw what became of his Espada after the two-year refurbishment and how quickly you can travel with it again today, he was happy to have decided to sell it. We are now friends. '

We are here. The friendly staff at Autostadt Wolfsburg has already been informed of our plan. The silver Lamborghini Espada is parked in front of the large glass surfaces of the museum called the 'Zeithaus' and the gloomy, sloping cube of the Lamborghini pavilion. Park visitors walk, the Lamborghini Espada in view, as if hypnotized in front of the lens of photographer Dino Eisele.

No question about it, the body of the Lamborghini Espada still fascinates today with its unusual straight lines and the elegant curve of the two rear side windows. The proportions of the 4.74 meter long and only 1.18 meter high coupé are also consistent: Nothing seems excessive or poor - including the side ventilation slots in the engine compartment that emphasize the length of the car and the two NACA air inlets on the aluminum hood through which Fresh air flows into the interior. Cool, matter-of-fact elegance in its purest form, far removed from any macho behavior.

Great suitability for everyday use

This is exactly what Bockelmann appreciates about his

No question about the body of the Lamborghini Espada is still fascinating today with its unusual straight lines and the elegant curve of the two rear side windows. The proportions of the 4.74 meter long and only 1.18 meter high coupé are also consistent: Nothing seems excessive or poor - including the side ventilation slots in the engine compartment that emphasize the length of the car and the two NACA air inlets on the aluminum hood through which Fresh air flows into the interior. Cool, matter-of-fact elegance in its purest form, far removed from any macho behavior.

Sports car with high everyday suitability

This is exactly what Bockelmann appreciates about his Espada: 'A Countach, for example, would be too extroverted for me . ' Added to this is the high level of suitability for everyday use and the comfortable chassis for a 240 km /h sports car. 'In principle, the Espada drives like a modern car,' says the Lambo owner after having covered 13,000 kilometers without any problems. On the motorway it is not a problem to swim with the fast at 180 km /h. The reason: 'Some people, in amazement, take their foot off the gas when they see my Espada.'