Posted By Zach Doell
And so the plot thickens. Lamborghini recently teased the silhouette of a new vehicle making its debut at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. With this new concept comes the befuddling headline, “Once perfection is achieved, you can just double it.”
Concept or production car, we don’t know— and the message has done nothing but raise more questions than answers. So as we wait for Lamborghini’s next big moment in Paris, lets take a look at the company’s five greatest one-off concepts.
350GTV
In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini threw caution to the wind and began building a car to rival the prancing Ferrari grand tourers. At the close of 1963, just in time for the Turin Auto Show, he had one – this.
The low-slung 350GTV arrived wearing sheet metal penned by Franco Scaglione and a 3.5-liter V12 racing engine crafted by Giotto Bizzarrini. Surprisingly, Lamborghini wasn’t a fan of his first attempt. He ordered the engine to be de-tuned, passed the design duties over to Carrozzeria Touring, and in early 1964 the production-ready 350GT was born.
400GT Monza
Still discontent with his 350GTV and Touring’s bodylines that cloaked the 350GT, Ferruccio Lamborghini sought out the carrozzeria of Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini in order to craft a new one-off model.
Neri and Bonacini returned with the 400GT Monza – a bespoke, slinky body fashioned on top of an existing 400GT chassis. The elegant Monza took to the stand at the 1967 Barcelona Motor Show, donning Borrani wire wheels, provocative swept-back looks, and Lamborghini’s 4.0-liter V12. It quickly sold right off that very stage.
Zagato Raptor
Just look at that shape. The Zagato Raptor is the quintessential child’s ambiguous matchbox car. You know, the supercar that you desperately wished were real but somehow the laws of physics governed otherwise.
Built in collaboration with Zagato in 1996, the Raptor sports the chassis and running gear from the Diablo VT, which means all-wheel-drive underneath and a hearty 492-horsepower V12 slotted in the middle. And for an added quirk, instead of normal functioning doors, the entire double-bubble roof assembly lifts up and forward.
Pregunta
1998 raised many dire questions regarding the future of Lamborghini, and we think it showed in their naming scheme. The Pregunta, Spanish for question, debuted at that year’s Paris Motor Show – the dramatic result of French coachbuilder Heuliez.
Lamborghini provided a donor Diablo, configured with rear-wheel-drive and a 530-horsepower V12. Heuliez provided the body, which actually wore the exact paint applied to a Dassault Rafale jet fighter. Top speed? Try 207 mph.
Egoista
Proving that Lamborghini hasn’t lost any of its design lunacy in its golden age, the Egoista was commissioned to celebrate the company’s 50 anniversary. We can’t imagine what the 60-year celebration will look like.
The Egoista boasts a 600-horsepower V10 underneath, donated from the Gallardo, as well as enough aerodynamic witchcraft to make an F1 team take notes.
Aero flaps in the bodywork open and close to tame the surrounding atmosphere. And we’d be remiss not to mention the aeronautics-grade antiradar material that comprises the super-concept’s body.
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