Lamborghini Islero

Lamborghini Islero at a glance

The Islero sat in the range beside the Espada and the mid-engined Miura; all models are listed in the Lamborghini catalogue. The history of the company is told in our history of Lamborghini.

Development and launch in 1968

By 1967 Lamborghini needed a successor to the 400 GT 2+2, the grand tourer that had established the company. The solution was a new body on the existing chassis. Carrozzeria Marazzi built the car, and Mario Marazzi is named as its designer, although Wikipedia notes a rumour that Ferruccio Lamborghini himself dictated the design and Marazzi only carried it out.

The Islero was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1968, alongside the Espada. Like most Lamborghinis, it took its name from bullfighting: Islero was the Miura-bred bull that killed the famous matador Manuel Rodríguez, known as "Manolete", on 28 August 1947.

Ferruccio Lamborghini drove an Islero himself in this period, as did his brother Edmondo - a sign of how much the company's founder preferred refined grand tourers to extreme sports cars.

Design and body

The structure is a tubular steel frame with riveted aluminium body panels. The front track is wider than on the 400 GT, and the car runs on cast magnesium wheels by Campagnolo with Pirelli Cinturato 205VR15 tyres.

Build quality was a weak point. The early cars had problems with fit and finish, some of which were corrected on the Islero S. Lamborghini's test driver Bob Wallace attributed them to the limited resources of the small Marazzi company.

Engine and performance

The front-mounted V12 has a displacement of 3,929 cc and six Weber 40 DCOE carburettors. Power goes to the rear wheels through a five-speed all-synchromesh gearbox designed by Lamborghini, with a hydraulically operated clutch.

For the Islero S, Lamborghini used the camshafts of the Miura P400 S and raised the compression ratio, while the torque stayed the same. Wikipedia gives 0–60 mph times of 6.4 seconds for the Islero and 6.2 seconds for the Islero S.

Islero S

The Islero S of 1969 brought a number of changes besides the stronger engine. Six cooling vents were added to each front wing, the bonnet scoop was enlarged (it supplies air to the cabin, not the engine), the wheel arches were slightly flared and the side marker lights became round instead of teardrop-shaped. The windows were tinted, the door windows gained a fixed section, the brake discs were larger, the rear suspension was revised and the dashboard and interior were redesigned.

Dimensions and running gear

The Islero is 4,525 mm long, 1,730 mm wide and 1,300 mm high, with a 2,550 mm wheelbase, and weighs 1,315 kg. Its fully independent double-wishbone suspension and disc brakes came from the 400 GT, but the front track was made wider. The Islero S received larger brake discs and a revised rear suspension. The gearbox is a five-speed all-synchromesh unit of Lamborghini's own design, with a hydraulically operated dry clutch. Compared with the mid-engined Miura of the same period, the Islero was a conventional front-engined 2+2 grand tourer, and it was never intended for racing.

In films and on the track

The Islero appears in the Roger Moore thriller The Man Who Haunted Himself and in the Italian film anthology Vedo nudo, where it is the car of Sylva Koscina.

It was never intended for racing, but in 1975 Paul Rilly and Roger Levève entered a lightly modified Islero (chassis 6348) for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTX class. It crashed during qualifying after a best lap of 5:28.00. The organisers later allowed it to start, but the team had already left the circuit.

Legacy

The Islero was in production for only two years and was replaced by the Jarama. It remains a rare and comparatively little-known Lamborghini - a car built for the kind of fast, comfortable touring that Ferruccio Lamborghini himself preferred.