This Lamborghini Espada Is a Secret Sleeper Thanks to a Countach V-12
A 1972 Series II Lamborghini Espada is for sale on Classic Driver right now.
The Espada makes 475 horsepower from its Lamborghini Countach–sourced 48-valve V-12.
The car had $40,000 worth of maintenance and rebuilding work done recently.
Usually, when someone decides to hot-rod a vintage car with a new engine, they use a big American V-8. That's not the case with this Lamborghini Espada, which had its original 3.9-liter V-12 swapped out for a bigger, more powerful 5.2-liter V-12 from a Countach. We're big fans. The best part? It's for sale right now on Classic Driver.
According to the seller—a Lotus dealership in Long Island, New York—this 1972 Series II Espada is now making around 475 horsepower from a 48-valve V-12, sourced from either a 5000 QV or a 25th Anniversary Countach. That's 125 more horses than it made from the factory. Because the motor uses vertically mounted downdraft-style carburetors (versus the Espada's factory sidedraft carbs), a custom scooped hood had to be fabricated to get everything to fit. Additionally, there's a one-off carbon fiber air intake box that sits above the carbs that cost $5000 to make.
Other modifications include a set of HRE wheels and a pair of Sparco sport seats. Thankfully, the original seats are included—no word on the wheels, however. The dealer says the car was recently treated to $40,000 worth of maintenance, including rebuilt carburetors, a rebuilt exhaust, a brake system rebuild, new fuel hoses, a new water pump, and new spark plugs.
The car is currently listed on Classic Driver, although no asking price is given. While we might not be the biggest fans of the big bulge on the hood or those wheels, the swap itself is certainly interesting. We have a feeling a Lamborghini die-hard will scoop this one up soon.
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