For those who don't know the story, Italian industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini's first business enterprise was in tractor manufacturing. His success quickly grew and he went on to become a major manufacturer of agricultural equipment that was vital during Italy's post-war economic recovery. And with such success, the money poured in. Already an experienced mechanic from an earlier career of owning a garage where he modified old Fiats, Lamborghini also had a passion for expensive cars.
He owned various Alfa Romeos, Lancias, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a Jaguar E-Type, and two Maserati 3500 GTs. More importantly, he also bought a Ferrari 250GT. And after a bad experience with Ferrari's technicians during a transmission rebuild, he ended up modifying and repairing the unit himself. Lamborghini then went on to build what he envisioned to be the ideal Gran Turismo exotic car and the rest is history. After several models such as the 350GT/GTV, the Miura, and Countach, he continued building grand tourers such as the Jarama.
Introduced in 1970 and built until '76, the Jarama was penned by renowned automotive designer Marcello Gandini. It was powered by the familiar V12 and was built specifically for export to the U.S. It was based on the Islero, which was unable to meet then new U.S. safety and emissions laws. Instead of modifying the car, Lamborghini chose to design an all-new model. While the Jarama may look similar to the Islero simply due to both being designed by Gandini, it had a shorter chassis and various others mechanical and styling changes.
The original was the GT model that had 350hp but when the GTS was introduced in 1973, output was increased to 365hp. The GTS also had power assisted steering, removable roof panels, and even an optional automatic transmission. All told, only 328 Jaramas were built (150 were GTS models) and one of those is now up for sale on eBay. This 1973 Jarama GTS has only 6,600 miles and is painted in a gorgeous orange with a black leather interior. Options such as the Phillips AM/FM cassette stereo that's placed up between the sun visors, A/C, and power windows are all factory original.
The seller is also including an original tool and jack kit, spare wheel and tire, and owner's manual. It currently has a 'Buy it Now' price of $79,000, but the seller is taking offers. For a Lamborghini this rare, we think the price is reasonable. Not to mention that it looks gorgeous both inside and out. Pictures courtesy of sparkles000