The V-8 Lamborghini Jalpa replaced the Urraco and the Silhouette in 1981, and sold alongside the V-12 Countach as Lamborghini’s smaller offering throughout the 1980s. In true Lamborghini fashion, the Jalpa was also named after a breed of fighting bull and featured aggressive, eye-catching wedge-shaped bodywork, in this case by Bertone. Powering this ‘junior’ Lamborghini was a 3.5-liter V-8 fed by Weber carburetors that produced 255 horsepower, giving the Jalpa a top speed of somewhere in the range of 150 miles per hour and a zero to sixty time of well under seven seconds.

Compared to the Audi-backed company of today, Lamborghini was still a small-scale manufacturer in the 1980s, and only around 400 examples of the Jalpa were produced from 1981 until the takeover by Chrysler at the end of the decade.

Of the cars that have survived, very few are as well preserved or as well sorted as this sleek 1988 Jalpa. As a 1988 car, it is one of the very last produced and is finished in black with black leather seats and tan door panels and carpets. The interior also features air conditioning, a CD player and an open gate shifter for the five-speed gearbox. The odometer shows 25,378 actual miles and overall this is a beautiful, original and honest car. Recent work has included ignition wires, exhaust manifold and newer front tires, but otherwise it has been a reliable, seldom used sports car. Its most recent owner was a professional foreign car mechanic who kept a small collection that he pampered with both enthusiasm and intimate knowledge of what the cars needed. The package includes the original warranty bookets and a parts manual. From its alloy wheels to its removable targa roof, this is an attractive, enjoyable and remarkably original example of one of Lamborghini’s rarer models.