Lamborghini 3500GTZ: when Sant’Agata met Milan

By Mick Walsh

| 27 Dec 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Lamborghini 3500GT Zagato: when Sant'Agata met Milan

Take off the Lamborghini 3500GT Zagatoʼs nose badge and the giveaway script on the clipped tail and few would recognise this sleek, mid-ʼ60s super-coupé.

Zagato experts will likely immediately spot the signature cues of the great yet self-taught stylist Ercole Spada.

Clearly thereʼs a hint of Alfa Romeo TZ2 and Lancia Flaminia Super Sport about its sleek profile and Kamm-style rear, but the rest looks more Frua than the famous house of Z at Via Arese, Milan.

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ could have been Sant’Agata’s answer to the Ferrari 250GTO

The sexy, wide-rim Borranis hint at something exotic – perhaps from Modena – but this is a better, more advanced product than anything Enzo or the Orsis had on offer in 1965.

Ask most Countach or Diablo owners and Iʼll wager none would acknowledge this SantʼAgata-born sensation that could have been Lamborghiniʼs GTO.

Unlike the worldʼs most valuable GT, it made just two 3500GT Zagatos – and this is the only complete survivor.

The all-round brilliance of Lamborghiniʼs debut sensation is one of the best-kept secrets of the classic car world, and the few who have sampled its storming performance, terrific poise and supple ride are rightly smug.

The timely coming together of three youthful engineering wizards – Giampaulo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani and Giotto Bizzarrini – plus ace New Zealand-born test driver Bob Wallace, resulted in awesome V12 power and a sorted all-independent chassis.

But clothing this newcomer proved more of a challenge for the tractor magnate.

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ’s quad-cam V12 engine has six sidedraught Weber carburettors

Franco Scaglioneʼs shark-nosed prototype looked awkward, and the already struggling Touring firm then delivered the distinctive, bug-eyed production form.

With Pininfarina then contracted to Ferrari, Ferruccioʼs choices were limited as the great coachbuilders fought to survive.

Frustrated by comments about the 350GTʼs quirky looks, he finally turned to Zagato to dress his brilliant new chassis.

The result sadly went no further than a pair of handbuilt prototypes – chassis 0310 and 0322 – probably because Lamborghini was already focused on developing a radical new mid-engined prototype.

The first 3500GTZ made its debut at the 1965 London Motor Show, on the low-key stand of British Zagato Ltd.

Parked between a Lancia Flaminia and the retro-styled Alfa Romeo 1750 Quattroruote roadster, it was barely acknowledged by the press.

Based on a 350GT chassis shortened by 10cm, its lines and detailing were more conventional than the Touring-built production car.

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ’s sumptuous cabin finish is at odds with its prototype preconceptions

Spada had made the most of the low, 4-litre quad-cam V12 – its sleek, broad bonnet profile made possible thanks to the sidedraught Webers – but the tall windscreen and deep side windows upset the proportions.

Curious details included square-section bumpers and stepped sills (a detail later copied on the Citroën SM).

Had the car been darker in colour it might have looked more balanced.

Clearly someone enjoyed driving it, because the odometer already read 825km – perhaps the delivery mileage from Milan to Earls Court.

After this Lamborghini 3500GTZʼs return to Italy, the car was sold to Marchese Gerino Gerini, a former racing driver and the marqueʼs Milan agent.

Then in the early 1970s Australian Peter Bermann spotted the mystery Lamborghini, and had it painted red and converted to right-hand drive before shipping it home.

The fate of the second car remains a mystery. Finished in silver, it was adopted by factory development driver Paolo Stanzani, who used it as his everyday car before an accident.

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ photographed at its London Motor Show debut in 1965

Stories vary about its fate: some say it was destroyed, while others claim it was repaired, sold on to the USA and eventually ended up in Japan.

Mysteriously, no photos were published of the car in the ʼ60s and illustrations are all of 0310.

The first Lamborghini 3500GTZ finally returned to Europe in the late 1990s, thanks to German collector Hans-Peter Stumpen.

His passion was for early Lamborghinis – he already had one of the best 400GTs – but his love for Zagato inspired him to track down the little-known prototype.

“I found an old Australian magazine with a feature on the car,” recalls Hans-Peter, “but discovered that it had been sold in the late ʼ80s by ANC Bank and was in an American car museum in Oklahoma.

“When I finally saw the car it looked in good condition, although still right-hand drive and red.

“The project really excited me because I knew how well a standard model drove. This was 250kg lighter and had a more aerodynamic shape.”

At the 1965 London Motor Show, the Lamborghini 3500GTZ was shown on the stand of the British Zagato concessionaire and priced at £6100

Hans-Peter did a deal and the Lamborghini 3500GTZ went to a Dutch specialist for a fastidious restoration, while its new owner headed for Zagato to research his treasure.

The famous Milanese carrozzeriaʼs archives were in a chaotic state: “It looked like Stalingrad, but the hairs on the back on my neck really stood up when I opened a box and found Ercole Spadaʼs original styling sketches.”

Hans-Peter sourced every photo reference he could, from archives across Europe, and, finally, after a German specialist had rebuilt the engine, the car was ready to be displayed again.

As well as returning to left-hand drive, the 3500GTZ was back in stylish Ivory white with elegant Moss Green leather trim.

After entering it in the Schwetzingen and Het Loo concours, Hans-Peter took it back to Italy where it was enthusiastically received at Villa dʼEste in 2002.

During the Germanʼs ownership, his daughter was working in Italy, and on a visit to the Lamborghini factory she got talking to an old mechanic who showed her his photo albums.

In the background of one shot was a silver car identical to her fatherʼs.

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ sports bullet mirrors

Although Hans-Peter was forced to sell the GTZ due to a business crisis, there was no doubt his heart and soul went into the carʼs restoration and one day heʼd love to buy it back.

Phoenix-based jeweller Scott Gauthier bought the car at a Deutsche Bank-organised auction in a hotel near Frankfurt airport for a bargain $375,000, and the Lamborghini joined his impressive Zagato collection in Arizona.

Although the car had been fully restored in Holland and Germany, Scott has continued to improve and refine it.

“The cosmetics were a little rough at the edges and we decided to take it down to bare metal and repaint it again,” he says. “We were amazed at the body condition and clearly it had never been wrecked in its life.

“The edge of the rear deck had been curved with filler so we stripped this off and put it back to the original sharper styling.

“We also redid some of the interior wood and trim, but the major change was sorting the rear suspension, which had been set too high.”

The striking Zagato-bodied Lamborghini’s low-slung shape is neatly set off by wide, 15in Borrani wire wheels, with hints of the Lancia Flaminia Super Sport and Alfa Romeo TZ2

The Lamborghini 3500GTZ is now Scottʼs favourite in his collection.

As well as extensive use on Arizona back-roads, he regularly drives it to work: “Itʼs a fantastic rally car. On mountain roads it feels really agile and the torque is fantastic.

“It just wants to keep pulling. Itʼs also superbly comfortable and refined. The only challenge is the exhaust fumes.

“Weʼve closed off the rear vents to try to exclude them, but it could just be a problem with the airflow over the Kamm tail.”

Slip into the airy cockpit and you instantly know this is no hastily built homologation special. The trim is superb quality with subtle toned leather, wood inserts on the dash and plush carpet.

Although the instruments and switchgear follow the production model, the scuttle is a one-piece component rather than assembled from padded sections. The final touch is a stylish Nardi three-spoke wheel.

This classic Lamborghini has neat vents on its rear deck

The shallow doors make you feel as if youʼre sitting higher than you really are, but, remarkably for a Lamborghini, the controls feel exactly right and even the pedal layout is tailored for easy heel-and-toeing.

Out on the road it just gets better. Erupting through four Ansa tailpipes, its deep snarl is more sophisticated than a Ferrariʼs.

Rich and intense, its turbine-like whirr is an exotic score of quad cams, double chain drive and sucking Webers.

The ZF gearbox has a light and quick action, matched by the perfectly weighted worm-and-sector steering and smooth clutch.

Aided by the Zagatoʼs trim build and shorter chassis, the already excellent steering feels sharper and lighter, with no hint of kickback even over rough surfaces.

Open those six low-slung Webers wide and its 320bhp, all-alloy V12 engine really starts to deliver, even from low down.

With a continuous flood of effortless, silken power, its flexibility is wonderful: there are no flat spots and the punch is relentless, right up to the 6500rpm redline.

‘The Lamborghini 3500GTZ’s chassis dynamics are as rewarding as its engine’s delivery is spectacular. It’s taut, sophisticated and supple’

With a 1960s Ferrari, you often forgive its flawed chassis for the intoxicating drama of the motor, but not this Lamborghini 3500GTZ.

The chassis dynamics are just as rewarding as its engineʼs delivery is spectacular.

Expecting an unsorted prototype, the spring and damper rates are perfectly honed, with ideal balance for ride and handling. Itʼs taut, with no creaks or graunches.

Through fast corners there is not a hint of roll and no dive, even under hard braking, yet the ride quality still feels sophisticated and supple.

Engineer Wallace always rated the 350GT as the best Lamborghini of all. After a spirited run around Phoenix back-roads, including some really challenging switchbacks, all the messages confirm his opinion.

Against a 250GT Lusso, thereʼs no question which one Iʼd take for a long, transcontinental run.

Even though my expectations were lower, few cars have impressed so much. Stepping out, I even found myself defending its styling quirks.

One of the other highlights for owner Scott was meeting the Lamborghini personnel at a special tribute at Concorso Italiano in 2002.

There, the mystery of the second 3500GT Zagato was finally solved.

“A factory engineer recalled that 0322 was crashed heavily in Italy just eight months after it was built, and was then disassembled by the works,” explains Scott.

“He insisted that a car now in Hong Kong is a reconstruction. Inside the glovebox, the old engineer then wrote ʻthis is the only survivorʼ and signed his name.”

Just imagine if Ferruccio had held racing aspirations above his determination to build the greatest Italian GT car, and the Zagato had been further developed by Wallace.

Matched against the GT class-winning Ferrari 275GTB and Shelby Daytona Cobras at Le Mans in 1965, this lightweight Lamborghini might well have given SantʼAgata the competition spurs it never quite earned.

But then it would have been a tragedy if Touring-bodied 350GTs were cut up to build replicas.

Images: Tony Baker

This was first in our February 2005 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

Factfile

Lamborghini 3500GTZ

Sold/number built 1965/two
Construction tubular steel chassis, with alloy panels over tubular body frame
Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 3929cc 60° V12, Weber 40DCOE sidedraught carburettors
Max power 320bhp @ 6500rpm
Max torque 375lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission five-speed ZF manual, RWD
Suspension independent by double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers f/r
Steering worm and sector
Brakes Girling discs
Length 14ft 1¼in (4300mm)
Width 5ft 4½in (1640mm)
Height 4ft (1220mm)
Weight 2315lb (1050kg)
0-60mph 6 secs
Top speed 160mph
Price new £6100