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1963 LAMBORGHINI 350GTV (1 Made)
Chassis #3500GT*00001*
Engine #
This beautiful metallic blue 350 GTV was the first Lamborghini ever to be built. It has a beautiful magnolia leather interior but unfortunately does not retain it's original Blu Ischia paint as seen in the bottom photos, nor it's original steering wheel.
The 350 GTV was first shown to the public at the Turin Show in October 1963 after only a year of design and construction. The car came about as the result of the labors of a small group of passionate men, formerly of Ferrari, headed by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. This first car was actually put together in a small corner of the Lamborghini's tractor factory. The car was put together so quickly that there wasn't even time to properly fit the engine for the Turin motor show. The engine took its place a a stand next to the GTV while a load of bricks took its place in the engine compartment to weigh down the front end. Nobody noticed.
The engine of this new car was desgned by Giotto Bizzarrini. Its displacement of 3.5 litres in a 60 degree, V12 arrangement with 6 Weber vertical double barrel carbs, produced 360bhp at 8,000rpm. Lamborghini was impressed but ordered it later be detuned for reliability as he had no intention of using it for racing. This didn't sit well with Bizzarrini who then left the company. The basic design of this initial engine later formed the basis for every future Lamborghini V12.
The chassis, also a Bizzarrini design, was built by Georgio Neri and Lucciano Bonacini of Modena. They construced the chassis of round tubes, welded to form a racing type structure.
The body of the GTV was designed by former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione, and built by Carrozzeria Sargiotto of Turin, which Scaglione happened to be running at the time. The car drew criticism for its poor quality of finish and less than exciting styling. The GTV went down in history as a failure but that didn't stop Ferruccio. He and his team promptly set to work on rivisions that would appear in the form of the 350GT at the Geneva Motor Show only a year later. Only one GTV was ever produced.
Sadly the engine and chassis were never mated due to clearance problems with the vertically mounted Weber racing carburators. After the Turin show the car was pushed to a corner of the factory and more or less forgotten about for 22 years. It wasn't until years of persuasion on the part of Romano Bernardoni and Stefano Pasini that the factory finally agreed to part with it. Once in loving hands full of neccessary cash, a restoration was started at Emilianauto, that would last several years and would finally bring together the engine and chassis. The engine and body were restored, the chassis properly modified and the engine finally installed. Today the two are running beautifully and are now part of the Isao Noritake collection in Japan.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Lamborghini 350 GTV
| | ENGINE |
| Type | 60° V12
Front mounted
Aluminum block
DOHC per bank |
| Valves | 4 per cylinder |
| Capacity | 3464cc |
| Bore/Stroke | 77mm x 62mm |
| Compression | 9.5:1 |
| Max power | 360 bhp @ 8,000rpm |
| Max torque | 240 lbs/ft @ 6,000rpm |
| Fuel System | 6 Weber vertical double barrel carbs |
DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission | ZF |
| Gearbox | 5-speed + reverse |
| Clutch | Hydraulic single plate dry clutch |
CHASSIS |
| Frame | Tubular Structure
by Neri & Bonacini |
| Body | Aluminum 2 seater coupe.
Designed by Scaglione. |
| Suspension | Independent front and rear |
| Shocks | Telescopic shock absorbers and anti-roll bars |
| Wheels | Wire |
| Tyres | Michelin XWX 205 x 15 |
| Fuel Tank | 80 Litres |
BRAKES |
| Front/rear | Hydraulically operated discs with vacuum servo |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wheelbase | 2450 mm |
| Length | 4500 mm |
| Width | 1730 mm |
| Height | 1220 mm |
| Front Track | 1380 mm |
| Rear Track | 1380 mm |
| Weight | 980 kg |
PERFORMANCE |
| Top speed | 280 kph claimed |
| Fuel Consumption | 16 litres/100km |
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