The naturally aspirated V12 engine has been at the heart of Lamborghini’s most prestigious product lines since 1963; in fact, to date just two designs have been produced for the super sports cars. The first, essentially a racing engine that was made more “civilised” for road use, was designed by Giotto Bizzarrini. It made its debut in the first Lamborghini, the 350 GT. The second engine, designed from scratch but with the main technical concepts unchanged, was introduced in the Aventador which was launched in 2011. This was a significant technological step forward for the company, setting new standards in terms of power and reliability.

The first engine underwent a significant number of modifications and evolutions over its lifetime in order to deliver increased power, and later to considerably reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Between 1963 and 2010, the engine was used in different positions. At first it was front-mounted in the 350 GT, 400 GT and the Espada. It was developed using aluminum for the cylinder heads, crankcase and pistons to bring the weight down to 232 kg. The engine was then used in a rear mid-engine layout, rotated 90 degrees to a transverse orientation in the Miura. Subsequently it was rotated another 90 degrees to a longitudinal rear-mid position, starting with the Countach, to help balance weight distribution