Lamborghini Silhouette

Lamborghini Silhouette at a glance

The Lamborghini catalogue lists every road model of the brand, and our history of Lamborghini covers the years in which the Silhouette was made.

Development and launch

In the mid-1970s Lamborghini sold two very different cars: the Countach flagship and the smaller V8-engined Urraco. The Silhouette added an open two-seater to this range. Bertone was again responsible for the body, as it had been for the Urraco, and Gandini gave the new car a more angular shape.

The finished car was shown at the Geneva motor show in 1976. Wikipedia lists Bertone as the manufacturer for Lamborghini, with assembly at Sant'Agata Bolognese. Production lasted only until 1979, and the total stayed close to 50 cars. Wikipedia counts 54, Lamborghini 52; both sources agree that 12 were built with right-hand drive.

From the Urraco P300 to the Silhouette

The base was the Urraco P300, the three-litre version of Lamborghini's 2+2 coupé. Wikipedia says the P300 was built from 1974 to 1979 and that 190 were made. Its 2,996 cc V8 had two chain-driven overhead camshafts per bank and 16 valves, and it was rated at 184 kW (250 PS) at 7,500 rpm.

For the Silhouette the Urraco chassis lost its fixed roof, and the 2+2 layout gave way to two seats. According to Lamborghini, the structure was revised and reinforced so that it kept its torsional stiffness without a roof. The finished car is only 1,120 mm high.

Bertone design and the targa roof

The Silhouette has square, muscular lines. A front spoiler and flared wheel arches were added to cover the wide, low-profile tyres. The roof panel can be taken off and stowed, so the car could be driven either closed or open.

The five-hole wheels were taken from the Lamborghini Bravo, a Bertone prototype that Gandini had shown at the Turin motor show in 1974. Lamborghini calls them "Bravo type" rims. The Bravo itself was built on an Urraco chassis shortened by 175 mm and never reached production. Wikipedia records that it was sold at auction for €588,000 in May 2011.

The tyres measure 195/50-15 at the front and 285/40-15 at the rear. The suspension and brakes were adapted to them. Inside, the dashboard was completely new compared with the Urraco, with the main instruments set deep into the panel behind a steering wheel of distinctive shape.

Engine and performance

The V8 sits transversely behind the seats. This all-aluminium engine has chain-driven twin camshafts on each bank and delivers its power to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.

Wikipedia lists 0–100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and 260 km/h as official figures. Lamborghini confirms the top speed and compares the acceleration with that of the Miura SV. The weight figures differ: Wikipedia gives a kerb weight of 1,240 kg, while Lamborghini says only that the car weighed under 1,400 kg.

The Car magazine convoy

The Silhouette also appears in a well-known piece of motoring journalism. In February 1977 the British magazine Car published "Convoy" by its editor Mel Nichols. It described a drive from Sant'Agata Bolognese to England in three new Lamborghinis: a Countach, an Urraco and a Silhouette. Lamborghini notes that the timing was apt, because French speed limits came into force a few weeks later.

The Jalpa that followed

The Silhouette was not a commercial success, but its layout lived on. In 1981 Lamborghini presented the Jalpa, a similar-looking targa with the same basic structure and a V8 enlarged to 3.5 litres. Wikipedia describes the Jalpa as the more successful evolution of the Silhouette, and it stayed in production until 1988. The Silhouette therefore stands at the start of a line of open V8 Lamborghinis that the Jalpa continued for most of the 1980s.

Legacy

Because so few were built, the Silhouette is far less known than the Countach or the Miura. Its importance lies in its ideas. It was Lamborghini's first targa, and it bridged the gap between the Urraco and the Jalpa. Wikipedia says that 31 cars are known to exist, so a Silhouette is a rare sight even at classic car events.