Lamborghini P140
The internal number P140 was used for
the successor of the Jalpa, whose production had been halted in 1988.
The P140, probably named 'Cala', was
designed with one goal in mind, superior styling, the engine and chassis were
made inferior to the exterior styling of this car.
At that time, the German and Japanese
cars were in the same price-range as a small Ferrari or the new 'little'
Lamborghini, that was the reason why Lamborghini had to rely so much on its
styling. Because both the German BMW's and Mercedes, and the Japanese cars were
very fast and reliable.
Not only did the Lamborghini had to be
different in style, but it also needed to be supported by state of the art
mechanics. The P140 would take the styling ideas of the Miura, the Countach and
the all-new Diablo, and used it to make it recognizable as a pure Lamborghini.
The P140 had to grab your attention and
never let it go again, it had to express speed from every angle, the design had
to be absolutely fresh and original, and in no way could it resemble another
car.
The P140 had to be unique and
unmistakably a Lamborghini, which offered roominess, visibility, safety,
quality, aerodynamics and, of course, Lamborghini-style mechanics. The P140 was
not created by just boosting the horsepower rating of a Jalpa V8 engine, a good
new sports car had to be balanced, because otherwise, it would become too hard
to drive, and it was a known fact that these high-performance cars almost never
ended up in the hands of experienced and expert drivers.
For the design of the P140, Lamborghini
contacted Carrozzeria Bertone, Chrysler Design Center and Marcello Gandini. A
few scale models were shown to the Lamborghini sales network, but all these
models were preliminary, because at that time the designers were still working
on the look. Nevertheless, it was already known the P140 should have a targa
top like the Jalpa, or even a full speedster configuration.
The exterior styling was still open, but
it was already known that the new Lamborghini would use an all-new V-10
QuattroValvole engine with an electronic fuel-injection system. The Lamborghini
engineers created this engine in only seven months, and it was extremely
modern, light and compact.
At that time, the decision was not taken
yet to use something else than the 'usual' tubular space frame chassis and
unitized body, because the P140 had to be completely new, the research was
oriented toward weight and structure to create something noble.
By 1992, the P140 was put aside to
concentrate on the Lamborghini Diablo, the Diablo VT, and in 1994 the Diablo
30Th Anniversary Special Edition. However, on the 1995 Geneva Auto Show, a
totally new Lamborghini CALA was shown, designed by ItalDesign and powered by a
similar V-10 engine with a power rating of over 400 bhp, mounted in a rear
central position, in an all-aluminum chassis.
At that time Automobili Lamborghini SpA
officially announced the Cala as the prototype for the Jalpa successor,
including the Targa roof configuration. Unfortunately
the Cala would never be produced and it took many years before the Gallardo was
introduced as the ‘Baby Lamborghini’ using a totally different V10 engine.
