was it not the owner and the original owner of your car that was involved in the whole Cheetah thing? may be people are not both about who owned your car so may be leave it behind too.
perhaps you should first read the lambo history, the cheetah was in the Leimer/Rosetti time after Ferrucio sold the company, into that time falls also the failed BMW M1 project. After the Chapter 11 1979-1980 the Mimrans bought Lamborghini in 1980 and invested a lot, brought Lamborghini into the profit and finally sold it to Chrysler in 1987.
yes but they still duster off the cheetah project to produce the LM which without all the prior development work the LM would have failed. So it does have its place as does every prototype and car ever produced.......
You actually believe that? What prior development work? The LM carries nothing of the Cheetah.....no Chrysler motor, not the steering and suspension, not the frame/backbone, not the electronics, not the interior.........pretty much nothing. Was the cheetah rear engine? I think it is.... and the motor on the LM just might be in the front
Sometimes development means finind what doesn't work, as much as what does. Does anyone believe that the LM would have existed without Lamborghini's prior involvement, at whatever level it really was, with the Cheetah?
The tougher question would be (or the same question), was Lamborghini thinking a truck prior to the cheetah? How can we get an answer? Just hard to believe that they were NOT thinking about a truck before the cheetah....the cheetah was presented to them and BAM, a light bulb when on in the heads?
These answers may never be answered, we can only try a put everything together to understand, why that initial thought of truck came about. Marketing department looking to find alternate buyers along with contracts that would give steady cash flow to assist with there main car.. like the little cars aim for a higher volume long entry level on price. Don't all companies in reality look to increasing the security financially to develop further there market share. Lamborghini has as we all know suffered more than most through some very dark times financially. They are still going which begs the question why? Development, marketing , sales
...or the old story that the many very good customers, the Arab oil guys, asked for a vehicle to get them into the desert. And that might have put the bug in their ears. Joe might be able to shed a little light on that because no one else seems to have very much info on this. Everything seems to be hearsay.
Its not something I have ever really spoken about to my long standing friends with Lamborghini who have been there foe many a year. Maybe its a good time to talk about the cheetah, I know he did a lot of development work on the LM before going to Bugatti for a few years.
It's a neat truck for sure, but in my eyes it's not a Lamborghini at all. The only thing lambo on that truck is the hood emblem. Cool peice of history because of the contaversey behind it but other then that, just another over blown experimental car that went no where. The olny reason there is any kind of interest in this thing is because of the badge somebody stuck on the hood. And in the end, it has no business being there. It may have sparked the idea for the LM002 trucks, but that's it.
This summer is going to be a blast when this shows up...cant wait!! Read more info here.. Cheetah - the STORY on LamboCARS.com
Coming along quite nicely...the Video interview shots tomorrow..getting close to the reveal in August! Image Unavailable, Please Login
That looks like a different front hood. There are small differences all over it. Is that a reproduction hood? Also I noticed that the dash is completely different. Do you have the background on what happened with that? Is that due to it being "destroyed" during testing as stated in some info? The other parts look correct.
The dash has not been re-installed yet, this is just the metal frame. There were a total of 4 hoods produced for the vehicle, as there were 2 types of doors made as well, we have 2 of the hoods and both sets of doors...as will be documented by the people of the day.. It was never destroyed, let alone used for Military testing, never happened. Once all the documentation, both on Video and written documentation is presented from the people that were involved with this project from start to Geneva, to Lambo Factory and then returned to the states...a very clear picture will come through. It will not be anywhere close to all the "stories" that are in print about this vehicle currently. As with many "proto type" creations, tons of rumors float and to get the real facts of the creation from the horses mouth is what is needed to be done....takes time...and to put back together the vehicle after all these years and re-correct the additions and changes that were made to it by previous owners has not been easy, to say the least. I am just glad we have had the original owner nearby through this process to Assit us with all his knowledge, period dated pictures, drawings, documents and connections with original period parts providers and builders of the day. For me, the hardest part so far was locating the correct winch for the vehicle. The original one has been long gone from the vehicle. It was a rare unit and was able to locate the exact unit in Australia, at a pretty penny of course. We were also very lucky to secure the EXACT seat covering material from the original seat builders here in Central California, a small company still in business today under another generation of the original owners. They still had all the drawings, invoices and records of their first build for the vehicle... It has been a great project to date to get it back together and dig on the research and the period time suppliers of the day, many of them still around and able to recall their involvement in the project. You have to understand back in those days, must things were sub-let to small local companies here in the San Jose area as well as the Factory's involvement as the project moved forward. I am aware there are more questions then answers being provided currently, but for me, this is the fun I am having with this project...to take it from the mass thought it was destroyed reports, to the documented correct reports of its life from start to 2013. In the end each will have to come to their own conclusions based on solid documentation, paperwork, serial numbers as well as recorded first hand testimony of the "real" people involved in this history setting project.
I am not trying to stir the pot and this thing is so cool but there are many things not the same on these 2 vehicles. I think this was a cool find for Roy. But it does not seem to be the Geneva vehicle: Tail-lights had black trim, now they have chrome trim Rear locking device near upright, now on the fender flare Golf-ball size hole on rear fender now 7 apertures fore of fender flare meet the flare differently now, showing that current car has more angled flare Different wheel design and width Wheel track of current vehicle significantly wider Attachment on side sill if current vehicle The rear bodywork appears to extend further Rocker panel not the same The body just seem different Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I also noticed that the roll bar is different as well. The original shows the tubing running up and along the side of the vehicle. The roll bar on Roy's version runs up and across the vehicle with the side tubing being welded into the front tube. While I know that the angle of the pic can make things look different but it also looks like the top of the throttle pedal on Roy's vehicle is below the brake pedal whereas the one on the original looks like it comes up above the brake pedal. To me, it looks like possibly two different vehicles made from the same design concept. Hopefully Roy's paper trail can answer some of these questions.
I am not saying this is a replica but were there any companies trying to make a kit of this back in the day. I seem to remember seeing something back in the early eighties when I was into kits (but I never owned any). Anyone know? If there was I know it would have gotten squashed real fast after only a short run. Seems there are a lot of various kits that got through before the lawyers got them shut down!
Are the originals wheels set aside? These pictures Roy shows in post #63 show he has the winch on the vehicle, that was a year ago. Strange. Roy, are you having this thing built from scratch? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
