Evolving from the Urraco, the Lamborghini Jalpa was
the cheapest from the marque during the 80's, and was
intended to compete with the likes of the Ferrari 308
and 328GTB.
It looked unique, if not really beautiful. Powered by
a 3.5-liter V8 (with 2 valves / cylinder only), it had
similar performance to match with the Ferrari's. Handling
and roadholding were also up to Ferrari's league.
In fact, this car was larger than the Countach in all
dimensions bar width. Besides, since it was built as a
monocoque structure rather than spaceframe, it did not
have the wide and high door sills as featured in Countach.
Cabin room was therefore rather generous for 2 occupants.
Furthermore, fine leather trimming, Targa roof and large
storage space enabled it to attract more mainstream customers.
Nevertheless, it still lived under the shadow of Ferrari
328GTB, since the latter was marginally better in nearly
all aspects. As a result, production terminated in the
late 80s.
