Espada thread

Hi Olivier,
Wow, thank you so much..
All the numbers seem correct with the engine and chassis thank god..
How would one go about finding the cars ownership history?
And this color, Oro or gold, does that look like the original color? A bit hard to tell..
Here are some interior pictures. Needs some work for sure..
Thanks again for your help sir..
Best,
Mike
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A few more exterior shots...
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First trace I've for #9234 is in April 2008 when it was for sale as a restoration project on ebay. Few months after the ebay auction it was restored and repainted.

Below are some pictures for the #9234 before restoration, by that time the car still had its Oro color.
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There is an Espada in the new Lanvin advertisement!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw3b9R1k-zg

FRom 0:03 to 0:06 it is short but it is there!!!

 

Looks great, congratulations.

 

breathless... so short !

 

Let's hope HE at least lasts longer ...

 

That's a very different color from the yellow it has now.

 

From time to time I get asked how many Espadas are still left. My answer is nothing more than a slightly qualified guess, but does someone have a more than qualified guess? How many totally left and how many still running

 

Interesting question, I suspect the number actually running and still being driven today is quite low, even though 1200+ were sold during the period they were in production. I know the whereabouts of many more Countach than I do Espada today and I'm sure I'm not alone.

I have no evidence to back it up but I'd guess at less than 30% of those produced still being around today. But I bet the % of Miura and Countach still in working order today is way higher, as they were much more valued by enthusiasts from the moment they first rolled off the production line.

 

Thank you for your input! I actually thought it was a little bit higher, given that the Espadas were maybe not driven that hard like the Countach I guessed.
On the other hand there was a time when the Espadas were not very appreciated or pricey and they were probably not very well taken cared of. But maybe they were just kept in a garage or a barn for the simple reason to being able to say "I have a Lamborghini in my barn!"

Now they start to being worth more money and then it will probably being more and more being renovated even though they are in really bad shape

So, your guess could very well being closer to the truth. I usually say maybe close to 50% when people ask me

 

A similar question was recently raised on another forum. The answers went from "probably 200-400 worldwide roadworthy" until "at least 900 units have survived "

My guess was that around 750 Espada survived the years (most of them drivable or still worth to make them drivable). Looking to my files I've 350 Espada recorded by VIN as existing in the last 5 years and another 250 as existing in the nineties or nillies.

 

Let's also remember that the Espada was one of the most popular Lamborghinis at the time and they were bought as uber 4 person GTs and not as a high performance sports cars like the Miura, Countach and Jalpa were. So they tended to get driven more like that and frankly plenty look rather tired now as a result. THey became much of a used car than a rare exotic.

Then there was the long period of the 1980s up through 2009(?) before people began to become more interested in them. All during this time they were still very expensive to service and restore so once one had a "too expensive to fix" issue they got parked/stored/abandoned. Some of that happened with Miuras and Countachs but to a lesser degree and once values took off for those which was well before the much smaller value rise of Espadas then those cars began to receive investment. That's still a hesitant action for Espadas.

 

Hope it is not a repost, but this video is very nice. It is in dutch, with english subtitles.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOyZSaWcTs8[/ame]

 

That's a beautiful example and the interior looks original. Perhaps not the paint?
I love the VIP interior option.

 

I have owned my espada for 23 years and Countach for 9 years. During my ownerships the espada was regarded as a third rate car but cost 3 times the value of a Countach to restore hence why the values were suppressed. I like both.
I think Harry is right. Amazingly about 200+ espada were imported to the uk and about 55 remain on the road. I recall back in the early 1990's speaking to euro parts and I think they said they had s rapped about 20 espada's. The parts were worth more than the car.

 

Hi Paul, long time no hear. You certainly can be counted upon as a stalwart fan of these cars.

That's a lot of RHD Espadas! In just the last 8 years I've noted quite a few Espadas that got parted out by Eurospares. I bet that would not have happened in the last 2-3 years.
The sales prices for some of the very sorry looking Espadas during the last 3 years has been quite astounding. I think you're right, a restoration done at an reasonably priced shop and not one of the uber parlours out there must be far more expensive for an Espada than a Countach or Miura. There's just a lot more "car" to refurbish. But if the Miura gets the split sump upgrade I suppose that adds another $30-40K?

 

paint, exhaust, wheels are not... but yes interior is original... few VIP were produced !
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Where should I buy a good car cover?

 

I've ordered two car covers in the last year from autoanything and they were Covercraft Noah fabric which is for outdoors. Reasonable and they fit very nicely.

I think the one for my Espada is a Covercraft dustop version which is indoor only.
That's a much heavier cover and provides some bump into protection.

 

I prefer this interior color combination for the VIP.
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It would be interesting to know how many LHD Espadas went to the UK. Olivier's records indicate that my car, an early LHD SI, was consigned from the factory to Lamborghini Great Britain.

 

According to the factory Delivery list, prior to any potential mistake from the list, here what I can share for all Espada delivered to UK market :

97x RHD

41x LHD

 

Looking for a set of Espada bumpers..
Mine have the cut-outs for the rubber US DOT ones..
I was thinking maybe I could have someone weld metal into the cut-out areas and have the bumpers re-chromed too..

Also, were should I go t buy all the rubber weatherstripping?
Doors windows etc...

 

Have you hooked up with Bob Huber yet? Some of the aftermarket rubber bits don't fit properly and he's used them all.

The bumpers are stainless. I don't know if someone could weld in those cutouts and not have it show? Good question. Ask it in the general tech section here where there are far more qualified eyes than in an Espada thread.

Also many of the questions you ask are already answered for the Espada on VLG like the rubber suppliers. It won't be reasonably priced. Mr Fiat gets them from the same place in Italy.