Lamborghini Jalpa turns 40; was the last Lambo sports car with V8 engine

Lamborghini is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jalpa grand touring sedan which was first presented to the world as a prototype at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1981. The model's commercial ended in 1988 after the production of 420 units. It is the last Lamborghini sedan produced with a V8 engine and historically the last sports car of this class to feature this particular engine displacement and positioning.

Since then, all Lamborghinis sports cars have used V10 or V12 engines. However, there is the recent twin-turbo V8-powered Urus SUV from Lamborghini, but is too big to be categorized as a sports car.

Lamborghini Jalpa gets its name from a breed of fighting bulls, the Jalpa Kandachia. Its design has been built taking inspiration from the Lamborghini Silhouette P300 from the 1970s. Launched in 1982, the model featured black bumpers, 16-inch alloy wheels on a steel body and Pirelli P7 low-profile tyres. It was built to be a GT car with a luxurious interior.

The model's interior was luxuriously finished with extensive use of leather and carpeting. Its opening roof, that was designed to facilitate removal and reassembly, can be stored in a special space behind the rear seats.

Lamborghini Jalpa sourced power from a 3.5-liter 90-degree V8 engine that churned out 255-hp of power and 231 lb.-ft of torque. It came paired with a five-speed manual transmission. Its average zero to 60 mph acceleration time was six seconds with a top speed of 155 mph.

Later at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini presented the ‘second series’ Jalpa model with some aesthetic modifications such as the bumpers and air intakes in the same color as the bodywork, rounded rear lamps, and revamped interior.

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