400 Monza prototype at the Lamborghini Museum

Does anyone still remember the Lamborghini "400 Monza"?
This really is a case of a car that has been forgotten, perhaps not by history but undoubtedly by its legitimate owner. Well, the “400 Monza” has just been rediscovered, just over a month ago, returning from more than 30 years of oblivion.

But let’s take things in chronological order: the 400 Monza first sees the light of day in 1965 in the original prototype, styled by Neri & Bonacini, the company which, at that time, was engaged in the making of the first tubular chassis of the 350 and 400 GT for the new factory at Sant'Agata Bolognese, directly commissioned by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself.



It is no coincidence that the 400 Monza is also built along the lines of the Lamborghini 400 GT, but with unique coachwork and with a design that – if the truth be told – is somewhat “Maranelliano”!
For this reason, but first and foremost because another car, a certain Miura (!) was reaching the final design stages, the 400 Monza, although magnificent, did not receive Ferruccio Lamborghini’s approval and remained a one-off.

After a few years of regular use, the 400 Monza ended up in Spain, where – to cut a long story short – it was abandoned to its fate, languishing unused and hidden for over 30 years.
By the time everyone was convinced that it had been destroyed (or, at the very least, “lost”), voilà! it makes its surprise re-appearance, "thanks to the children of its former Spanish owner", recounts Cristina Guizzardi, the Director of the Official Lamborghini Museum, where the car was exhibited after the conservative restoration to which it was subjected in Modena, at the specialized Lamborghini workshop TOP MOTORS of Nonantola.

Now the 400 Monza has returned, triumphant, to twinkle in the Lamborghini firmament as an international collector’s piece. In fact, it has already left Italy and, perhaps for the last time the “Automobili Lamborghini” plant, heading for Great Britain, where Bonhams, the famous auction house, has found it an enthusiastic owner who, we hope, will give us the pleasure of admiring it frequently at the most prestigious international vintage car shows.