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Someone Had This Rare Grigio Argento Lamborghini Jalpa Painted Red

In this day and age, a Lamborghini car priced at under $200,000 is nothing but wishful thinking. This is a reality that comes from the fact that, given the current state of the global economy, the Italians have no interest in making a lower-priced car. But things were different some decades ago.
Red 1983 Lamborghini Jalpa was once painted in Grigio Argento 25 photos
Photo: Silverstone Auctions
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Back in the 1980s, when Lamborghini (and others) was still feeling the full blow of the financial and oil crisis of the previous decade, there was a dire need for a more affordable car, but one that could easily compete with the likes of Ferrari, both in terms of price and performance.

So, by taking cues and ideas learned with the earlier Urraco and the limited Silhouette, Lamborghini came up with the Jalpa, a car that could easily compete against the Ferrari 328, the Prancing Horse’s entry-level car at the time.

The first Jalpa rolled off assembly lines in 1981, and in 1988 production ceased. A total of 410 cars with this name were manufactured, all equipped with a 3.5-liter V8 engine capable of developing 255 horsepower. For all intents and purposes, the Jalpa was the last Lamborghini V8 produced before the arrival of the mighty Urus.

Of the 410 Jalpas made, only three were painted in Grigio Argento, and one of them just popped up on the Silverstone auctions website. Only it’s not in the Grigio Argento color it originally came in.

The seller of the car, who hopes to fetch as much as £78,000 for it ($101,000), admits that some restoration work was done to the car, and in the process somebody (a Washington-based customer) decided a full respray is in order, turning a rare example of a rare breed into something that's more easily seen on the road.

“Fortunately, as an early car, US emissions modifications did not have to be met and the engine was not revised with the unsightly large air-filter boxes and changes to the exhaust etc. that reduced power,”
the seller adds.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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