The greatest improvement could be found on the inside, the complete interior was redesigned from the original Islero, new seats with higher backrests at the front offered more comfort and were finished in leather on the sides with velours inserts in the center, many Islero were ordered with a full leather interior. The rear seat was split by a fold-down armrest, toggle switches replaced the earlier pull units and a glove box was installed on the dashboard, the dials on the dashboard were grouped more logically still, the major improvement could be found in overall workmanship the Islero S was just better made than the earlier model it made this one of the best-looking and best-performing 2+2 on the market back in 1969.

Changes underneath the bodywork were minimal, the old, square chassis from the 400 GT 2+2 was still used but the rear suspension was modified in line with the Espada suspension to improve stability under hard braking or accelerating, disc brakes were enlarged, and the engine was now up to 350 Bhp by installing camshafts taken from the Miura S and raising to compression to 10.8:1.

Still sales of the Islero S didn’t boom, it seemed that all the improvements couldn’t undo the bad reputation of the initial Islero, the workmanship was much better on the ‘S’ model but this didn’t result in better sales. Even the different car magazines didn’t spend much ink to this Lamborghini, they were all focused on the more impressive Miura and the larger Espada.

Only 100 Islero S were built, 5 of which came in RHD configuration, the final Islero S left the factory in early 1970, after only one year of production Lamborghini replaced her with the Jarama, today the Islero S is looked upon as one of the rare front-engined Lamborghini GT 2+2 models built back in the days when Ferruccio was still running the company, in fact during an interview he stated he preferred driving the Islero over a Miura or an Espada the Islero (both the GT and the GTS) are still among the much less well-known Lamborghini and don’t demand the high prices as the 350 GT for instance in August 2015 a 350 GT (#0220) would be sold for $935,000 while an Islero S (#6531) would reach $401,000 at the same auction less than half.

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But the Carrozzeria Touring was falling into severe financial problems which subsequently led to them filing for bankruptcy in 1967 in fact the last 400GT 2+2 bodies were already made by Marazzi and no longer by Touring, which made the decision of Ferruccio Lamborghini to have the successor to the 400GT 2+2 being built at Carrozzeria  Marazzi rather obvious.

Note that Carrozzeria  Marazzi was in fact founded by a former Touring employee, so the knowledge was there to complete the Lamborghini model into the future, the Lamborghini Islero 400GT was unveiled at the 1968 Geneva Auto Show, next to the brand new Espada, the original 350/400GT design was completely changed, the round style was gone and hidden headlamps with square-cut body contours made their introduction.

Mario Marazzi not only had to build the new Lamborghini Islero, the new model was also styled by him working together with Frederico Formenti, under the guidance of Ferruccio himself the Islero became known as the original vision Ferruccio had for his Gran Turismo. A wider track compared to the 400GT 2+2 allowed for wider tires, usually the well known Pirelli Cinturato 205VR15 tires would be mounted at the factory in Sant’Agata, note that the frame and rear suspension on the Islero were in fact taken from the 350/400GT model.

The Islero was a clean and inoffensive car to look at but lacked the personality of the 400 GT 2+2, and it paled next to the sensational Miura and the bigger Espada. At the front, a large air intake would be found below a thin, chrome bumper while a split bumper was used at the rear, by using large windows all around the outward visibility inside the Islero was impressive which was fortunate as the Islero was powered by the famous V12 engine pumping out 320 hp, later increased to 340 hp, resulting in a top speed of 270 Km/h (165 Mph) very impressive back in 1968.

Compared to the 400 GT 2+2 the Islero was replacing the air-conditioning was standard together with more head- and legroom, the dashboard design was heavily modified too, using a multitude of dials set on a wooden background surrounded by a lot of leather behind a wood-trimmed steering wheel. The seats inside the Islero were upholstered in leather and both the steering and windows were power assisted this was a luxury coupé, just the way Ferruccio liked them in fact, he drove an Islero himself back then, car number #6201 from 1968 was his personal car, that specific Islero was sold at the Pebble Beach 2013 Gooding&Company auction for $247,500 after she as restored by Gary Bobileff.

The Islero marked the start of a great tradition at Automobili Lamborghini SpA she was named after a famous fighting bull. ‘Islero’ the bull, killed the famous matador Manuel Rodriquez in August of 1947, just about every Raging Bull to leave the gates at Sant’Agata from 1968 on would be named with bullfighting in mind.

The Islero, like its successor the Jarama, is a rather less well-known Lamborghini, and only 125 were built, which is a pity, because the Islero had a towering top speed and driving it was very easy, but it only lasted one year, an improved ‘S’ model took over in 1969, but was also dropped after only one year, to be succeeded by the Jarama, keep in mind the Lamborghini Islero was a car among the batch of the first 1,000 Bulls ever built, made in Sant’Agata back when Ferruccio was still running the company.

For the 1975 24h de Le Mans the Islero #6009 was entered in the GTX or Production GT category by a French car dealer, Paul Rilly, this car was painted Rossa Corsa and received starting number 34. A roll cage was installed together with a 100 Liter fuel tank, racing seat belts, quick release straps on the engine cover, a special exhaust, different suspension and special brakes during the final qualifying laps the Islero sadly crashed into the guardrails, the best lap time she managed was 5:28,00 which wasn’t enough to qualify so she was withdrawn from the race and never started in the end.

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