1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 Coupé

• The first four-seater Lamborghini model
• One of only 247 built
• Complete ownership history from new

It is the stuff of legend that Ferrari-owning industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini only turned to automobile manufacture as a result of receiving off-hand treatment at Maranello, vowing to build a better car. A successful manufacturer of tractors and related machinery, Lamborghini possessed the resources to realise his dream without having to compromise.

Lamborghini's first production car, the Carrozzeria Touring-styled 350 GT, debuted at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show. The work of two of Italy's most illustrious automobile designers, the 350 GT featured a glorious 3.5-litre, four-cam V12 designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, housed in a chassis penned by Gianpaolo Dallara. The 350 GT's four camshafts and all-independent suspension meant that it upstaged the best that Ferrari offered at the time, but to compete with his Maranello rival's larger models Lamborghini needed a four-seater, and the 400 GT 2+2 duly appeared in 1966. A development of the 350 GT, the newcomer used an enlarged - to 3,929cc - V12. This 4.0-litre unit had first appeared in 1965, finding its way into a handful of late 350 GTs, this interim model being known as the 400 GT. Lamborghini's own five-speed all-synchromesh manual transmission first made its appearance on these cars. The 400 GT's claimed maximum power was 320bhp - up from the 350 GT's 270 - an output sufficient to make the former a 150mph-plus (240km/h-plus) car.

The 400 GT 2+2 retained the overall, and highly acclaimed, looks of the 350 GT while contriving to be slightly taller in the interests of increased rear-passenger headroom. Bodies were now steel (the 350 GT's had been aluminium) and the 400 GT 2+2 had the twin headlights that had already been adopted in place of the oval originals, largely to meet the USA's requirements.

Despite its novice status as an automobile manufacturer, Lamborghini soon dispelled any lingering doubts about its ability to compete with the world's best Grand Tourers. Reviewing the 400 GT in its 2+2 form in 1967, Autocar magazine voted it "better than all the equivalent exotic and home-bred machinery in this glamorous corner of the fast-car market". The relaxed manner of its long-legged performance was reckoned the finest quality of the Lamborghini, its V12 engine being judged to have the broadest range of smooth torque the testers had experienced. Autocar concluded: "To achieve this level of performance without noise, fuss, temperament or drama is an achievement; in the time taken for development, it is nothing short of sensational."

A total of 23 examples of the interim 400 GT and 224 of the 400 GT 2+2 were completed between 1966 and 1968, which makes it one of the rarest Lamborghini models ever built.

Chassis number '0874' was supplied new in Rome via the concessionaire Carpanelli to Mr Giovanni Albarelli on 4th April 1967 and comes with a copy of its first registration document. The original colour scheme was Grigio Argento with Tobacco leather interior, which the car retains to this day. Mr Albarelli kept '0874' for six years before the car passed to another resident of Rome, Mrs Valeria Alberti. In 1978, Mrs Alberti sold the Lamborghini to the well-known Belgian collector Baudoin Dejaiffe, who would keep it for the next 12 years.

In 1990 Mr Lejaiffre sold '0874' to Claude Levy in France, who owned the car until March 1993 when it was registered to another French enthusiast, Mr Christian Bouveron. At that time the odometer total was around 52,000 kilometres, and the car received a thorough mechanical refurbishment by Lamborghini specialists Ciclet Automobiles, as evidenced by service records on file. Mr Bouveron subsequently sold '0874' to Belgian collector M. Blesin, who would keep the car for 20 years before it passed to the current owner in Belgium in March 2015. More recently the Lamborghini was treated to a full carburettor overhaul by AB Racing together with a general mechanical check-up.

Offered with a comprehensive history file, '0874' is a fine example of Lamborghini's class-leading Gran Turismo and worthy of a place in any distinguished private collection.