www.QV500.com - Lamborghini Espada Part 2: Espada Series II
 
By the time production of Lamborghini's Series I Espada was discontinued in early 1970, 186 examples had been completed in little more than a year. An improved version was on the way though and having first been shown at the Brussels Motor Show in February 1970, was put into production shortly afterwards. Often referred to as the GTE in factory literature, this revised Espada most obviously featured a new high compression engine similar to that used in the Miura S. With 350bhp at 7500rpm, the Series II was 25bhp up on the outgoing variant.
   
Compression was increased to 10.7:1 (from 9.5:1) while, following their introduction on the Miura S, ventilated brake discs were fitted all round. A few subtle visual alterations were also made, the Series II getting a tidier body that incorporated a lightly smoked perspex window on the tail facia (in place of Bertone's original grille). Changes were made inside with a redesigned dashboard housing all the instruments in one binnacle rather then the staggered arrangement of Series I's. There was a new centre console that featured rocker switches and air vents, improvements to the rear-seat ventilation and an illuminated central armrest also being introduced. For the first time, Series II cars could be fitted with power steering. Finally, towards the end production, those beautiful knock-off cast magnesium wheels were substituted for Series III-style five-bolt alloys (also by Campagnolo).