When Ferruccio had left the car company and after several owners stepped in it was time for a new, young approach and under the Mimran reign we saw the first official attempt at using a Lamborghini as a race car or a rally car to be more precise as in the mid-Eighties it was deemed the right time had come to enter the notorious Paris Dakar rally using the only model in the lineup that could finish the powerful four-wheel drive LM002.

Work began on chassis number HLA12047 to convert this regular 455hp V12 Lamborghini into a rally specs edition pumping out over 600hp, an open race exhaust was installed and a lot of excess weight was removed from the standard LM002, the sound from this highly tuned competition engine must have been very brutal, almost animal like sound when flooring the gas pedal.

A full roll cage went in the stripped down interior, only two seats remained up front boasting multi point seat belts that would strap the occupants down nicely, the dashboard got scattered with special rally switches, timers and positioning equipment as required for the big rally Paris Dakar.

Naturally the suspension was also upgraded to cope with the constant pounding of high-speed desert driving while the glass was replaced with lighter Plexiglas; the front side windows even featured small sliding part like on most race cars.

None other than rally legend Sandro Munari would be driving this factory prepared LM002 Rally edition unfortunately it was never actually driven in a Paris Dakar Rally, she was entered in the Rally of the Pharaohs in 1987 (October 18-28) but didn’t start the race after the sponsor had a deadly accident in an offshore powerboat.

The LM002 Rally re-appeared in the 1988 off-road rally in Greece, when Mario Mannucci was the driver with Sandro Munari as the co-pilot, sadly the Lamborghini didn’t finish the rally, but it did manage to hold the third position at first. After this short life in competition it is believed the engine was replaced by a more ‘standard’ V-12 and the car was sold to a collector however recent information mentions LM002 number HLA12047 is back to full factory rally specs and still part of a Lamborghini collection.
So this factory original LM002 Rally didn’t really make it into the Paris Dakar, but in 1988 a Raging Bull was entered Swiss based World LM Racing Team entered a bright red LM002 in the grueling Paris Dakar competition, and while some sources state they had to retire the race, other sources list this car with starting number 519 did actually finish in 10th position in the Marathon category.

This red LM002 was driven by Concet and Kurzen, P.A. Burnier was the owner of the World LM Racing Team while Maregrande from the Lamborghini factory was appointed as the designated mechanic and none other than Sandra Munari was a technical advisor on this car so while not an official factory entry into the Paris Dakar it still had some direct linkage to Sant’Agata.

Some specs on this 1988 LM002 Rallye (they called it Rallye instead of Rally): 5200cc V12 engine, 475hp, 3200kg in full rally load, 600 lite fuel tank with a fuel consumption of 68 Liter/100km resulting in about 900km on a full tank while reaching speeds of up to 200km/h on the street and an impressive 180km/h in the sand, with the special tires this LM002 was even able to reach speeds over 100km/h with a flat!

Another LM002 was prepared for the Paris Dakar rally by a private party, some sources state this was in 1989, other sources state 1996 one this is certain however, this orange finished LM002 was once again factory build, finished in bright orange over black I saw it parked at the Belgian importer in the Nineties, apparently bought by Hubert Siegez in 1993 (who owned the dealership in the Gossetlaan in Groot Bijgaarden, Belgium at that time). The orange LM002 was still wearing its full Rally dress, it was later sold to a Japanese collector who according to the Lamborghini Registry, still drives it with the original open exhaust system today.

So we are looking at three different LM002 that have been linked to the famous Paris-Dakar rally and the rally adventure wasn’t over yet in 1996 a heavily modified LM002 with chassis number HMA12046 was entered in the Prototype category, note that this specific LM002 was once owned by Mrs. Mimran .. back in the Eighties the Mimran family owned the entire Lamborghini factory, history is told Mrs. Mimran received the LM002 as a gift.

Famous race driver Andrea Barenghi bought the car from Mrs. Mimran in the mid Nineties and spend over a year preparing this LM002 for the toughest race in the world the Dakar! Rumor has it Garage Burnier in Switzerland took on the work of converting this LM002, the engine was taken out of the car and received a custom made injection system, the factory standard catalyst were removed and both cooling and lubrication were modified and reinforced so the car would be able to withstand anything the Dakar desert would throw at it.

Front brakes were replaced by AP units and a massive 800 liter fuel tank was mounted to increase the action radius of this rather thirsty V12 unit with more than 600hp based on a Countach unit with 455hp normally the added horsepower and the fact over 500kg was removed from the original LM002 resulted in some impressive performance figures. Do note that the original chassis of the LM002 turned out to be so structurally strong it wasn’t even necessary to modify it for the race very impressive to say the least.

So LM002 chassis number HLA12046 was officially entered into the 1996 Dakar race and received number 246, the Bull kept up with the competition very nicely, both on the flooded roads of Spain as on the African desert sand unfortunately one oversight roared its ugly head.

The LM002 was no lightweight to begin with, and the massive Pirelli Scorpion tires didn’t help keeping weight down either, hence a combination of high speed driving on bad roads and impressive jumps took their toll on the suspension. In a matter of days the team went through no less than 24 shock absorbers and had to forfeit the race due to a lack of spare parts.

Afterward the car changed hands again, it was sold to Gildo Pallanco Pastor, owner of Venturi Automobiles, who wanted to turn this final LM002 Rally into a high performance fun car to enjoy on the roads around Monaco. Pastor had the car shipped to a Lamborghini specialist who had the entire engine rebuilt, starting with a standard Countach engine once again but the project got cancelled at some time and the car was left abandoned still mostly in its Dakar race specs.

Other information mentions HLA12046 was auctioned by Poulainlefur in Paris in 1998, at that time the car still had the Swiss title. In 2008 it appeared again on the radar when it was for sale at less than 30,000 Euro as it still required a lot of work to get back to full Rally specs, apparently the engine came with two ECU, one with a 7,500rpm max and another with a 7,800rpm redline both releasing over 600hp from the V12. The owner did have a lot of work executed on the car but in the end still offered it for sale again as a project car.

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This new engine was designed by Alfrieri and used very little parts from the original 5-Litre unit, this 7-Litre unit was actually destined for marine purposes and could be distinguished from the smaller V-12’s by the larger exterior dimensions and the design of the cam cover.

Several other parts around the engine were changed too, the gearbox became mechanical instead of the automatic ones in the first designs, and a special design by ZF was used, taken from the LMA-002.

The suspension was also taken from the LMA, as was the power-assisted steering, but a big difference was the use of drum brakes on the rear axle.

Lamborghini aimed the LM-004 at another category of customers, this was clearly visible on the inside of this car, the seats were changed for body-hugging types like those in the Countach, upholstered in leather, with nice carpets on the floor, a complete dashboard with radio-telephone, VHF radio, stereo system, air-conditioning, refrigerator and a cold-water tap between the back seats.

All this made the LM-004 appear like a giant, upright Countach, and this large, 3000 Kg heavy beast could even reach 200 Km/h.

Only one LM-004 was built, the new 7-Litre engine did not perform well enough to allow the increase of weight against a 5-Litre unit. Therefore, further testing was done with the 5-Litre unit, resulting in the LM-002, which would be commercialized from 1986 on, in almost the same form as the LM-004.

Note that the original LM004/7000 was actually tested by AutoCar in May 1986, perhaps you can still find a copy of this test, unfortunately this rare Lamborghini no longer exists today.

Rumors state however that it was possible to order the LM002 with the 7.0-Litre Lamborghini marine engine fitted into it, naturally on special demand for a wealthy customer, prices for this ‘option’ were never published, but then again, anyone who would order it with this massive engine wouldn’t care about a little extra cost.

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The Lamborghini LM002 or Rambo Lambo as it was called by a journalist in the United States was an SUV like no other back in the Eighties a massive V12 engine up front with a 5167cc displacement delivering 450 hp to all four wheels which in this case were massive 17 inch steel rims covered with stupendously expensive Pirelli Scorpion tires.

It would be almost impossible to get stuck in the sand with this superlative off road Bull, but the money was to be made from army use, unfortunately the Middle-Eastern armies didn’t order large numbers of it, and an attempt to sell it to the United States wasn’t met with the enthusiasm needed to boost sales.

At the end of the production in 1993, the US Importer did create a special LM Americana edition, with upgraded interior, aluminum MSW/OZ wheels and chrome bumpers to the front and rear of the car, presented at the 1992 Detroit Auto Show it managed to sell only 60 units, most of them with the fuel injected Diablo engine.

With only 60 made, thee LM Americana could be considered rather rare, but without a doubt the most exclusive LM002 ever made has to be the one presented on this page, none other than the Sultan of Brunei is believed to have put in an order for an LM002 Estate version at a Turin based body shop owned by Salvatore Diomante.

Diomante created a fully closed version of the Lamborghini LM002, which normally had an open deck at the rear to seat four to six additional men (originally intended to be soldiers in fact). By raising the roof section, stretching the rear overhang and putting in a U shaped bench arrangement in the rear the LM002 Estate could now seat five people behind the driver and passenger.

Naturally full leather hides were used inside for the very luxurious interior, add a small TV set and possibly a VCR and the owner could watch his favorite show while on the road or in the sand. Some sources state the car also had CD and DVD players but somehow I doubt these would be installed back in 1986 as the DVD only came around in 1995, home CD players did get introduced in 1982, if they made it into this LM002 only four years later I can’t confirm, nor deny.

The seats in this very special LM002 did get electric controls while the new roof also had a sliding sunroof installed and the leather interior was upgraded with custom made wood panels, even the dashboard was modified by request of the customer.

Early photographs show a white finished over a tan leather interior, however later on this car has been repainted, one photo exist of it in a bright green color with a UK registration on it, but today this one of a kind Lamborghini is finished in silver metallic over a black leather interior and it is located in Germany, on dealer plates.

In 2008 the LM002 Diomante Estate was valued around €150,000, which isn’t too bad for a car that was nearly 25 years old, today the value is still high as it is without a doubt the most impressive LM002 made, and with less than 10,000 km on the counter it might still be a solid investment.

This specific Lamborghini has been on display at the 2010 edition of Klassikwelt in Friedrichshafen while someone has spotted it in Stockholm as late at April 2012 so it is safe to say the car still exists, and is most likely still for sale right now.

There has been a rumor about a six-wheel version of the LM constructed for a customer in the Middle-East, but I haven’t been able to confirm this yet, would be pretty amazing if you ask me.

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This design became the Lamborghini 3500 GTZ, the new body was mounted on a 10 cm shortened chassis taken from the 350 GT, and was presented on the 1965 London Auto Show, finished in white over a black plastic (vinyl) interior, this was car number 0310 with engine number 0301.

The finished car looked rather awkward, the front of the car lacked personality, and overall proportions just weren’t right, subsequently, only two cars were ever built, a white over black one (nr. 0310) and a silver over black one (nr. 0322).

The nr 0310 was later sold to ex-race driver Marchese Gerino Gerini who was also Lamborghini’s official agent in Milan during that period, later he sold to car to a fortunate customer in Australia who had it converted to right-hand drive and repainted in red.

Recently this specific Zagato Lamborghini was bought by a German collector who shipped it to The Netherlands to undergo a full restoration, during which it will be converted back to left hand drive and repainted in a fresh red paint.

The Zagato records show two cars being built during November 1965, recently it was believed only the 0310 was actually built, but the second car did really exist with the chassis number 0320 and had engine number 0228 installed, it was driven by Mr Stanzani himself at first, later this one was sold to a customer in the United States. Rumours were this car was later destroyed in a rather big accident and was damaged beyond repair, note that this statement was never officially confirmed.

Some sources may state the engine of the number 0310 car was in fact one of the early 4-Litre engines instead of the normal 3.5-Litre unit but this was also not officially confirmed, as far as paperwork can show, this car still used the 3500 cc engine with repco pistons.

The 3500 GTZ isn’t considered as one of the better Zagato designs, the design, which was executed by Ercole Spada, showed some resemblance with a Ferrari 25O GTO, but lacked the awesome looks and charisma of this berlinetta according to some people, note however that the structure line of these 3500 GTZ’s was shared with the Alfa Romeo TZ 2.

It must be noted that these two cars actually represented the only relation between Lamborghini and Zagato, the latter was never contracted by Ferruccio, he liked the Bertone designs better, as almost all the Lamborghini designs to follow the 350/400 GT were executed by Nucio Bertone and his design team.

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