1965 Lamborghini 350 GT

The Lamborghini 350GT is a grand tourer built between 1964 and 1966, and the first production car produced by the company. With a distinctive body initially penned by Franco Scaglione and built by Carrozzeria Touring, the car used their 'superleggera' method, pairing aluminium panels onto a tubular frame, and a stiff box-section chassis gave the car excellent rigidity.

The engine was a detuned version of the 3.5-litre V12 in the prototype 350 GTV, with the 3464cc DOHC engine producing 270bhp and a top speed of 158mph. Power was delivered through a ZF 5-speed manual gearbox, and the car was stopped with servo-assisted Girling disc brakes on all four corners. Just 143 Lamborghini 350GTs were built, and Ferruccio lost around £1,000 on each one, but sales were just enough to keep Lamborghini's sports car division afloat.

In 1966, the engine was upgraded to 3929cc, increasing the power output to 320bhp, and the car was redesignated the 400GT. Just 23 were built before the design was refreshed, enlarging the cabin to create a 2+2 layout. The rectangular headlamps were replaced with a pair, and the roof line rose by 66mm. Body panels, almost all of which were different from the earlier cars, were now in steel. First shown at the 1966 Geneva Salon, the new Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 also had an all-new gearbox. 224 examples of this model were built before it was discontinued in 1968.