www.QV500.com - Lamborghini Urraco Part 2: P300
 

Ferruccio Lamborghini completely withdrew from the company bearing his name in 1974, the great man having grown steadily more despondent at the trials and tribulations involved in running an exclusive motor manufacturer. Thankfully, the firms new Swiss owners, Georges-Henri Rossetti and Reine Leimer, let Stanzani further develop the Urraco in an attempt to fulfil its commercial potential. Despite having been a very good if flawed package, the P250 was a commercial flop. Lamborghini had nevertheless continued to develop their still young V8 and this is where most of the latest changes were focused.
   
Stroking the motor by 11.5mm (to 64.5mm), Stanzani increased displacement to 2997cc. He also fitted revised heads with internal combustion chambers, increased the number of camshafts from two to four and reduced compression from 10.5:1 to 10.0:1. With four twin choke 40 DCNF Weber carbs, this extremely impressive three-litre V8 was good for 265bhp at 7500rpm, 45bhp up on the outgoing P250. More power led to significant performance gains, top speed rising to 154mph whilst 0-60 required just 6.2 seconds. There were also minor changes to the bodywork, Bertone re-locating the headlights slightly further down the front wings while suspension and transmissions were both beefed up to cope with the increased power and torque. The new car was launched at the Turin Salon in November 1974.
 
After an often painful four-year gestation, it seemed the Urraco had finally been transformed into a truly exceptional motorcar and was now worthy its rampant bull. However, the reputations of both the Urraco and Lamborghini had already been tarnished and it was always an uphill struggle for the P300 to achieve the commercial recognition it deserved. Superior in terms of aesthetics and performance to Ferrari's 308 GT4 and the Maserati Merak, only Porsche's 911 was better built. Production continued until late 1978 when the P300 was finally dropped after 205 had been completed.