Lamborghini Jalpa 3500

Lamborghini
Jalpa P350
Production period:	1982-1988
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Otto engine : 3.5 liters (188 kW)
Length:	4215 mm
Width:	1880 mm
Height:	1115 mm
Wheelbase :	2450 mm
Empty weight :	1499 kg
Previous model	Lamborghini silhouette , Lamborghini Urraco

The Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 is a sports car from the Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini , which was produced from 1982 to 1988. It was the successor model of the Lamborghini Silhouette , on which it was technically based.

history

The concept of the Jalpa 3500 goes back to the Lamborghini Urraco presented in 1970 , which, as the smallest and cheapest Lamborghini model, was to compete with the Ferrari Dino 246 and the Porsche 911 , among other things , and which was supposed to enable the plant to work more efficiently with higher numbers. The Urraco did not meet these expectations: instead of the expected 1000 copies per year, Lamborghini sold a total of only 674 vehicles in seven years. The reasons for the failure are the lack of technical sophistication at the start of production, processing defects and delivery delays due to strikes. The Targa version presented in 1976 as the Lamborghini Silhouette did nothing to change that; until 1979 only 52 copies of the Silhouette were made. The production of Urraco and Silhouette ended in 1979 with Lamborghini's bankruptcy; the Countach, however, Lamborghini's most attractive model, remained in production during this period.

The new investors around Patrick Mimran, who took over Lamborghini in 1980, saw the need for an entry-level model positioned below the Countach in order to achieve better utilization of the plant. This role was played by the Jalpa 3500. The company still lacked the money for a completely new model, so the entry-level model was developed on the basis of the Urraco or Silhouette. The development of the Jalpa was headed by Giulio Alfieri , the former technical director of Maserati , who had already developed the similarly designed Maserati Merak , which is located in the same market segment .

The Jalpa was technically more sophisticated than its predecessor. It is described in the literature as "the car that the Urraco should have been from the start".

Body and technology

The Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 was a two-seater Targa coupé, so it had a removable plastic roof above the passenger cell that could be stowed behind the seats.

The exterior and the technology of the Jalpa 3500 largely corresponded to the silhouette. The changes primarily concerned the mechanics and drive technology, while the body only underwent minor changes.

body

Rear view of a late Lamborghini Jalpa

The body of the Jalpa was technically and stylistically a continuation of the Urraco or Silhouette designed by Marcello Gandini for Bertone . Since Lamborghini had no funds for a new body, he took over the body shell unchanged.

Like its predecessors, the Jalpa had a self-supporting all-steel body in a shell construction. Components were a floor plate pressed from steel with box-like stiffeners and a steel body frame with standing walls, roof pillars, etc., placed on it and firmly welded to the floor plate.

The stylistic changes compared to the Silhouette were limited to cosmetic details designed by the French Marc Deschamps , Gandini's successor as chief designer at Bertone. Specifically, the car received plastic aprons below the front bumpers and newly shaped air inlets above the B-pillar. The fenders, doors, hoods and glazing remained unchanged; the same applies to the pop-up headlights . At the rear, the rear lights of the Fiat 124 Coupé were initially used again , which had already been installed on the Urraco, the Silhouette and the Jarama . From 1984 they were replaced by a total of four round taillights, which should create a stylistic similarity to Ferrari models. A rear wing was also available for the Jalpa for a high surcharge .

The Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 was a heavy car. The curb weight was 1,499 kg.

Drive technology

Eight-cylinder engine from Lamborghini

Giulio Alfieri revised the engine of the little Lamborghini. The starting point was the eight-cylinder V-engine that Paolo Stanzani had designed for the Urraco in 1970. With the bore unchanged compared to the earlier P300, Alfieri increased the stroke so that the displacement rose to 3,485 cm³. The output increased by only 5 HP to now 255 HP (188 kW); however, the changes led to an increase in the maximum torque from 279 to 319 Nm. The mixture was prepared by four Weber twin carburettors of the 42DCNF type.

Performance

The acceleration of the almost 1500 kg heavy Jalpa was not very satisfactory; the Ferrari 328 Quattrovalvole, which was around 200 kg lighter, was more powerful with 199 kW (270 hp) and the 170 kW (231 hp) Porsche 911 was even lighter with 1210 kg. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h was specified by the manufacturer as 5.8 seconds; in practical tests, however, a value of 7.0 seconds was almost never undercut.

production

The Jalpa 3500 was presented as a prototype in March 1981 at the Geneva Motor Show. Series production began a year later. Marketing the car turned out to be difficult. Despite the fact that test reports awarded the Jalpa 3500 good driving performance and acceptable quality, buyers held back. A major reason was Lamborghini's previous bankruptcy. Many interested parties feared a recurrence of economic difficulties and, among other things, questioned the security of the supply of spare parts.

Most sources put the total production at 410 copies. Some assume that there are 310, 420 or 421 vehicles.

Derivatives

Based on the Jalpa 3500, Lamborghini developed a full convertible with a fabric roof in 1984, which, however, did not get beyond the prototype stage. The Jalpa 3500 was also the technical basis for the Chrysler Portofino concept car , whose special feature was four butterfly doors that open in opposite directions.

Popular culture

The film Rocky IV (1985) contains a succinct scene in which the leading actor, played by Sylvester Stallone , drives a black Lamborghini Jalpa through Philadelphia at night . The scene is exemplary for the emerging mid-1980s and especially by Miami Vice become popular music video -like aesthetic in film and television.

literature

• Matthias Braun, Alexander Franc Storz: Type compass Lamborghini: Sports car after 1964. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02645-2 .
• Decio Carugati: Lamborghini. Mondadori Electa, 2010, ISBN 978-8837067632
• David Hodges: Lamborghini. The Legend . Smithmark Publishers, London 1998, ISBN 978-0765108463 .
• Hans-Karl Lange: Lamborghini. All sports cars since 1963. Verlagsunion Pabel - Moewig, Rastatt 1991, ISBN 3-8118-3063-5 .
• Anthony Pritchard: Lamborghini. The history of the supercars from Sant'Agata. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 978-3-89880-574-2 .

Web links

Commons : Lamborghini Jalpa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Personal website for Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 (Engl.)
• History of Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 (Engl.)
• Technical data (Engl.)

References and comments

1. ↑ Model history of the Lamborghini Urraco on www.qv500.com ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Bachelor, Poole, Robson: Das Große Buch der Sportwagen, p. 246
3. ↑ Model history of the Lamborghini Urraco on www.qv500.com ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Lamborghini. The history of the supercars from Sant'Agata. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-574-3 , p. 110.
5. ↑ Brazendale, Encyclopedia Automobil, p. 355.
6. ↑ ^{a b} David Hodges: Lamborghini. The Legend . Smithmark Publishers, London 1998, ISBN 978-0765108463 , p. 56.
7. ^ ^{A b} Hans-Karl Lange: Lamborghini. All sports cars since 1963. Verlagsunion Pabel - Moewig, Rastatt 1991, ISBN 3-8118-3063-5 , p. 72.
8. ↑ The Lamborghini Urraco on the website of qv500.com ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed September 3, 2010 
9. ↑ Company monograph " Lamborghini ", Verlag Karl Müller, Erlangen, 1991, 255 pages (with pictures of the basic body structure)
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Anthony Pritchard: Lamborghini. The history of the supercars from Sant'Agata. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-574-3 , p. 109.
11. ^ ^{A b} Hans-Karl Lange: Lamborghini. All sports cars since 1963. Verlagsunion Pabel - Moewig, Rastatt 1991, ISBN 3-8118-3063-5 , p. 73.
12. ^ Anthony Pritchard: Lamborghini. The history of the supercars from Sant'Agata. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-574-3 , p. 114.