Tuesday, October 29, 2013

1965 Lamborghini 350 GTS

The 350 GTS was the first convertible in the history of Lamborghini. GTS stood for GT Spyder. For the first time the vehicle was presented to the world at the Turin Auto Show in 1965, two years after the founding of the Lamborghini company. The 350 GTS was built on the 350 GT. Only marginal modifications were made to the original car, the roof was removed naturally. Thinking that the concept would go into reduced production, coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring even designed a hardtop for this car. The windows were altered and the trunk was redesigned to store the fold-up top. The Lamborghini engineers enhanced the design of the whole vehicle with additional elements. This increased the weight from 1050kg to 1088kg. However, Ferruccio Lamborghini and company management were more focused on the construction of high-speed cars and convertibles did not fit in the business plan. As a result, only two prototypes were built. 

In 1982, Automobili Lamborghini SpA performed a conversion on another 350 GT. Chassis #0160 was converted into a 350 GTS for a French customer. The 350 GTS had a manually folding, canvas roof. It was possible to purchase an additional metal hard roof for the winter. The interior of the GTS is not different from those of the interior of the normal GT. Some changes have taken place under the hood of the car. The V12 3.5-liter engine can produce 300 hp. 

In the 1990s, two 400 GT Spyders were converted from the more powerful 400 GT model by Jerry Fandytis of Arizona. 
(lambocars.com, lambo.com.pl, classicdriver.com & ultimatecarpage.com)




















            (Above L)                               (Above C)                               (Above R)
       350GTV Concept ('63)             350GT ('64-'66)                      350GTS ('65)

(Photos from flickr.com, lambo.com.pl, autowp.ru)