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The 1972 Lamborghini Urraco P-250. #15006. Production #4
This a two and a half liter V-8 that screams to over 8000rpm
Wow. This Lamborghini was unexpected. The 4th Urraco.
It seems that every winter Peter gets quite restless. As the cold months move on slowly, the hunt for something gets more and more intense. During the winter of 2008 and 2009. The Lamborghini Urraco kept popping up in his head. Especially after reading a book about the model in the summer of 2008 while vacationing in Maui. As the winter started, the hunt was on. Like the Countach, there was not a hurry.
"It seems every winter I buy a car. I really was getting the urge for the Urraco. I did not want a red or blue car. I ultimately wanted an orange with tan or 2 tone tan and brown interior after seeing for sale while in France. Silver and black were also on the table"
But with the rarity of these cars, that color combination was pretty much not going to happen. But that did not stop Peter. He was also searching for cars to restore or finish some elses restoration. After looking and looking, a couple of cars came to light.
"There were about 3 cars that came up that were interesting. One car was owned by a fellow multi-Lamborghini owner down South, J. Frazar. We had several disscussions. But his car was red. There was another in California that was under restoration. Again, we had several discussions. This car was proabaly the one as I could finish in the color combination I want. There was also another one but the price and the history was questionable. I really didn't want to import from another country."
So, the one in California was the car he would go for. He has many conversations and emails. But it seemed the owner wanted to get more work done to the car and was not moving to quickly. Peter was willing to wait. During this time a red 1972 Urraco, ex K. Meighan, appeared on eBay.
"hmmmm, the '72 showed up on eBay. Clean car BUT it was red. But it was also in New Jersey. Something I can look at in person as I have only seen one on the road, from my rear view mirror, 20 years ago. So I thought it would be worth it to take a quick drive to get familiar with the car."
In early Feburary, 2009, Peter made the trip to New Jersey. As he drives up the long private driveway of this sprawling estate which wraps around this enormous brick masion, the car appears in the foggy distance, sitting on a pebble courtyard type driveway.
"I bought it"
Peter said no to red but when he saw that car in this peticular setting, he had to have it.
".....the red was different than what I was expecting. This was a more exotic looking red. The interior was a leather and clothe combo and was exactly what I was looking for, it was the nicest combination I've seen.
Meighan was another multi-Lamborghini owner, as well as Ferraris.
We worked out a very nice deal and I must thank him for making it work. I hope to meet up with him at one of his daughter's charity runs."
This 1972 Lamborghini Urraco was the 4th production model, the biggest reason he bought this one. Also, the fact that the car left the Santa Agata factory with the prototype wheels!
"I have no history in the 70's but do have history in the 80's and the import documents of 1985. The owner who imported the car, who has owned it for many years prior (but I don't know if he is the original owner) sold it to an Italian mechanic shop owner in Pennsylvania. That owner had it for 15 years or so before selling to Mr. Meighan of New Jersey. The car was originally Verde Metallizzato then Blu Metallizzato. In the 1990's it was paint Lamborghini red."
The car is in mint condition, not perfect. Which is the way he wants it. He drives it once or twice a week. A great car for zipping around the neighborhoods.
From March 2009 throught the summer months, while driving it, he set out to a number of thing that need attention.
"I trailered this car myself because it was so close. When I got it home I started to make a list of things I wanted done. First was the struts. This was a game of tag. But with the help of other owners, J. Frazar to be exact, the work was easy. And the parts are common. I disassembled the suspension. I replaced the strut inserts with VW Corrado unit. The steering stabizer was a Mercedes Benz part. Brakes are BMW though I only replaced the pads with EBC Reds. Assorted other parts as well. But the bigggest was the original factory exhaust. It had a lot of pin holes in it and it was not loud enough."
At this point Peter had been seeing Stebro exhaust systems online but they were not loud enough and they were around the $4000 mark. But he noticed that they has a third exhaust for the Urraco, a racing exhaust! Excellent! Had to have it. But when it arrive the flange and bend were different. He relized they were for a Lamborghini Jalpa. Disappointed, Peter contact the company and learned that was all they had. However, they would ask Peter to be involved in designing a system for the Urraco. In May of 2009, Peter shipped the factory exhaust to Canada for a template. After several weeks and many emails and phone calls. The exhaust is back.
"It fit on the car nicely. I had no problems at all. I fired it up and it was nice but not as loud as I would have liked. I want racecar loud. Don't get me wrong, it's loud, and has the popping and crackling that make the hair stand up.
There is only one other issue with the steering that he says must receive attention. That will be done by Exoticars-USA along side the Countach in 2010.
Hopefully it will be a quick service. Peter really likes to drive this one. This Lamborghini Urraco P-250 has a two and a half liter, high revving V-8. It revs to over 8000 rpm. Don't for one minute think this car tame. At full tilt, this "little bull" (Urraco's translation) is screaming loud. And can be heard echoing loudly throughout the hillsides.
