Gooding & Co are in possession of signed letters from Ferruccio Lamborghini, another from Sales Director's secretary Ingrid Pussich, and testimonial letter from the first owner Ed Scott who collected it from the factory. All 3 letters point to the fact that this car was Ferruccio Lamborghini's personal Islero. Not only was it a car that he used, but he did so continuously for almost 2 years! In his letter, Ferruccio Lamborghini gave the car his personal testimony stating that he hoped Scott would enjoy the car as much as he had. The only reason it was sold to Ed Scott was the fact that upon his random visit to Sant Agata he expressed interest in an Islero, none was immediately available, and this car was offered him at a discount. All documented, including shipping to Ed Scott in the USA, no question whatsoever that this was Ferruccio's car. The fact that Ferruccio Lamborghini never registered cars he took as his own is completely redundant and doesn't prove or disprove anything. The cars he used were registered in the name of a nominator (for example someone in the front office). FWIW this was customary in Italy in the period amongst VIP owners, and we have seen this many times.
Some Isleros were finished with red wrinkle cam covers. 6000 was the obvious one. Then a few years ago I sold the ex-Albert Silvera car from Haiti owned by a man in Seattle who had it from 3 years old onwards. He vouches it always had red cam covers and we know Silvera was a VIP client. Rare, but it was done. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The man who serviced Scott's ex-Ferruccio 6201 in the early 70s says that when the car came over from Italy it looked like this. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well, why the factory doesn't provide a "factory statement" stating Ferruccio's personnal car with special options ? when factory can do it for others cars, just an historian and collector self question... To my knowledge, as it is related everywhere, Ferrucio used several cars without registring them, but he had registered personnaly only 2 cars : Miura & Countach. That's all I have to say for now.
Because the factory has not been asked. On file are 3 1970 letters: 1 from Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. 1 from Ingrid Pussich, Automobili Lamborghini SpA's well-known Sales Manager's assistant. 1 from first owner Ed Scott. These 3 period letters are better than anything that can be generated in modern times and they are sufficient for purposes of establishing whose car this was from 1968 to 1970. The special options are minor and are not mentioned in the 1970 correspondence nor can they they be confirmed 40 years later.
Why does the "6201" chassis plate look like "6204" ? So as I understand your reasoning on the special finishing options: 1. A couple of people have said that they came with red wrinkle when they first observed the car. 2. There is a photo layout of one in a magazine from? (That's the best depending on the dates of the car or the magazine) 3. The fancier leather work cannot be verified by the factory. Was it in the car when it was restored? Any early photos of it? Just wondering. Wooden gas cap? That story must be great. Did Ferruccio whittle it himself from a stump pulled by one of his tractors? We got to get creative here. ) Gawd this stuff can get outright silly right?
Red wrinkle cam covers were never done by the factory !!! NEVER. You are affirming something you cannot prove. People/owner told you it was like that... so it is a rumor, but it doesn't prove it was factory OEM !!! I've personnaly interviewed several factory people, among them Camillo Razionale (engine manager), Oracio Salvioli (quality control and later restoration/servicio clienti manager), Enzo Moruzzi (in charge of the homologation of each car to be delivered)... all of them confirmed me that only #6000 was candy red as it can be noticely seen in the Islero brochure... but NONE other Islero has factory red cam covers as you stated !!! I'm sorry to say that as I don't consider you as an ennemy, with all my respect, but in this case you have a lack of crucial proof or direct witness/testimonies.
Olivier, It ain't THAT important. I think anyone who buys a car like this has to have a bit of a jaundiced eye about some of the claims. I have three other cars with red wrinkle on them and they look great. One didn't come that way and has had red on it for almost 30 years now. On this carI don't think it looks that great. I've heard from other sources that the interior pattern was on this car previously but in another color. Ah so what. Maybe this is now the correct color? I'm inclined to believe that this was a car Ferruccio used like a dealer demo car which how you describe it. And as Fred used to always say, "But then what do I know". OK resume combat!
No trouble at all let me try & answer your questions as best as I can Dunno why the chassis plate looks any different from 6201, here it is below pre-restoration. FWIW I have seen some Miuras with the stamped numbers looking a little strange so I am hardly surprised. But the car is 6201, no question. Claudio Zampolli worked at Automobili Lamborghini SpA from 1967 to 1975, and was there when this car was built. He was also often a personal driver for Ferruccio Lamborghini. He told me a few cars had the red wrinkle cam covers including this very car which he has known from new. He can be contacted at [email protected] to verify same. If Lamborghini SpA did red cam covers on 6000, they possibly did it on other cars too, based on the fact that claimed exclusive specification is often found to be not the case. To me the red cam covers make no difference in the car's value, they are mainly a point of interest because no one can prove or disprove their originality (although in my book they look very likely original). The layout of the magazine is from period 1968 and that is chassis 6000, widely accepted to have red cam covers. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/138248936-post174.html The car's value is in the restoration, and the Ferruccio Lamborghini link. Regarding the Ferruccio link: this car was used by Ferruccio for almost 2 years. Ferruccio wrote his own letter to Scott saying words to the effect "I hope it gives you as much pleasure as it did me". What does that tell you if not that he considered this car his own property? To undersciore this, he wrote the letter on personal stationary. The car was Ferruccio's, whether you consider it to be a dealer demo car, a personal car, a claimed car or whatever. The point is, without splitting hairs, it was USED by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself, that fact is very cool, and that fact is documented in 3 period letters by 3 seperate people including the Commendatore himself. The quilted leather and wooden gas cap are not documented anywhere. But Lou Herrin who has run the Islero register for nigh-on 30 years, Claudio Zampolli who has known the car from new, and the first owner's testimony all point to these items being there throughout the life of the car. The next owner can keep them, or choose to get rid of them easily if he doesn't believe they were original. No big deal. A few images of the items under discussion before the car was restored. I have a feeling that the more discussion that the ex-Ferruccio Lamborghini Islero gets, the more successful the car will be at auction. Hope this helps! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This debat is an interesting conversation. In many other threads, many many people on this board had FREELY debated hundred times to demonstrate their opinion on this Public forum about Countach, 350 GTS, Miura, Cheetah and so on with proofs or not... Many people encouraged me to reveal my analysis about some facts : 1. In the original factory delivery files : there is NO mention Islero #6201 was built for Ferruccio Lamborghini. But looking at the overall file, it is recorded each time Ferruccio had a car built for him... just one example among others : Jarama GTS #10418 is recorded being specifically built for Ferruccio, even if he NEVER registered it on his name and used it several months !!!! At this step, nothing at factory can show in one way or another this car was used or not by Ferruccio. 2. Still in these files, Mr Edward Scott appears to be the owner of the car, no dealer is linked, so it MAY mean it is a direct sale. Ubaldo Sgarzi doesn't remember about this car and about Mr. Scott. 3. Another curiosity is the delivery sequence recorded by factory was in 1968 while #6201 was delivered the 21st March 1970. It may lead to conclude that Ferruccio kept it 2 years or any other circumstance could justify it stay so long before being sold to Ed Scott. 4. The interior was "Tobacco/tan" in pig skin untill summer 1986, not red leather as it is now for almost 30 years. 5. There is no mention about the wooden cap and so on. Any connection with "Ferruccio's Riva" is pure fiction. 6. No red cam covers were fitted on this car, because Automobili Lamborghini never did this... confirmed to me by the following people : Dallara, Stanzani, Wallace, Sgarzi, Salvioli, Moruzzi, Razionale. 7. Saying that it means all these stuffs were added later, after the car left the factory. 8. It vanishes all the litterature written before about the fact Ferruccio had special stuffs fitted on his car... or how to create a more desirable car than the others, often seen in our Community ! 9. A generous "donator" shares with us the famous letter of 2nd February 1970 that proves #6201 is Ferruccio's personnal car. Looking at it, what can we notice : a. Ferruccio's signature is different, comparing it with the thousand times he signed autograph everywhere. b. Back in 1970, Ferruccio was still owning the factory, and such document should have been written with Automobili Lamborghini SpA front letter... c. Ferruccio never spoke English... so someone typed the letter. If a secretary typed the letter for him, we should read on left top the initials of the secretary, as it was in ALL THE CORRESPONDANCE done by Ferruccio Lamborghini, by Automobili Lamborghini SpA and by all the others Lamborghini factories (confirmed by Ingrid Pussich and others secretaries). In this document, we can notice there is no initial. d. There is no address on the letter. e. Strange : the meaning of this letter ? why Ferruccio wrote this when he never did for the other cars he used ? d. The chronology of dates between this letter and the delivery date recorded officialy at the factory 6 weeks later ? 10. Why is there no official factory statement about this Ferruccio's #6201 ? Because none asked for before ? or because there is no confirmation by the factory it was Ferruccio's car ? 11. To prepare my book, I've interviewed many period people, one of these persons became Ferruccio's close friend. This "person" invited Ferruccio for his wedding as Ferruccio was his witness. Ferruccio came with a blue Islero (he was using) as a surprise for the wedding party and to make the Young couple leaving the Church with the Islero... this wedding happened in 1971. 12. The Islero production was stopped at the end of january 1970. Sharing all these facts with the Lamborghini community is important as it gives the possibility to anyone to make his own opinion. It appears there are more documents kept "à la Fort Knox" and the Lamborghini Community is probably interested to read them in order to have #6201 story clarified, as I would be the 1st to agree there is no hesitation about its history. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Olivier I very much look forward to your book. I think the contents will be very interesting. I only hope that there will be an english version. John
I'm writing it in French obviously, but it will be launched in English as well, I know my English is far from being perfect, and it would be a non sense to not release it in English as the potential audience is International... thanks for your interest.
An excellent argument Oliver! Whether or not this car was Sig. Lamboghini's personal car is for you and other experts to debate. What should be noted is With in the vintage and classic automotive world there is a tremendous amount of actual fraud that has been committed and is being committed. I have personal first hand knowledge of actual fraud being perpetrated by factory representatives ( of one of the great sports car manufactures) and their personal friends in the industry at large. i. e. valued dealers, race shop partners etc. I can guaranty there are more than a few important race cars out there being sold or held in museums that were said to have finish this or that race, but in reality those cars are back up cars or is some cases actual fakes. Much fraud was created and perpetuated during the fist value run up from 1980-1990. These vehicles are now historical vehicles who's provenance is irrefutable to the experts at large. There are people out there who know- Its really a "buyer beware" world
Indeed, and much of it is subjective. What is not is the initial user of the car. You have not commented ion Igrid Pussuch's letter on the same subject, and Ed Scott's letter on the same subject, both written in the period when Ferruccio Lamborghini allowed the sale of this Islero to Scott. Your analysis of Ferruccio's signature, and thus the authenticity of the letter, is flawed though. What I mean specifically, is that you ought to do a bit more research before you level serious allegations or reach conclusions, and as such your historical research is rather lacking. I hope this will not be the case with the aforementioned book. Ferruccio's letter on his personal stationary only serves to underscore that the car was his own, in my opinion. It is well-known that the signature you have presented as the standard for a Ferruccio signature is one that he carefully crafted on special occasions such as the signing of wine-bottle labels etc. It is not the one he used for letters or administration, such as the letter he wrote Scott. Here is proof of same... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Same type of rushed "Lamborghini" signature, twice here, as always, slightly different. Image Unavailable, Please Login
