Following Lamborghini’s first production model, the 350 GT, the similarly styled 400 GT 2+2 was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966, with a larger body that had seating for four, a larger four-liter engine, as well as an improved gearbox and differential. Bridging these two models was the appropriately named 400 GT Interim, which borrowed the two-seat body of the original 350 GT but featured the mechanical improvements of the new car. Even by Lamborghini standards, production was low, with only 23 of these Interim cars built in total.

This example, chassis 0463, was completed on May 16, 1966, finished in red over black leather upholstery and equipped with engine no. 0439, which it retains today. It was delivered new to West Coast Lamborghini distributor Bob Estes in Inglewood, California. Mr. Estes, a successful Ford Lincoln-Mercury dealer dating to the late 1940s, was an early Lamborghini distributor who worked closely with the factory and advocated for build quality and other improvements aimed at making the cars more attractive to their intended buyers in America. Mr. Estes retained 0463 for the next two years, having the car photographed for a promotional postcard and using it as a demonstrator. On June 26, 1968, the 400 GT was sold to another California resident.

By 1976, the Lamborghini was owned by John A. Baum of Tustin, California, who had the car serviced throughout his ownership by noted Lamborghini specialist Gary Bobileff. In 1983, Bobileff acquired 0463 from the Baum estate and sold it that October to Richard W. Killion of Carlsbad, California, who retained it until early 2020. During this time, 0463 continued to be serviced and maintained by Bobileff, which also included restoration work. Photographs and dozens of invoices in the car’s history file document this work, which included a 1997 engine rebuild. In early 2020, Mr. Killion sold 0463 to the consignor, and the 400 GT Interim joined his collection of some of the most exotic Italian sports cars in the world. In his ownership, the Lamborghini has continued to be serviced and maintained, documented by invoices on file, and it received cosmetic work to repair damage to its left rear bumper and surrounding bodywork.

Finished in red and complemented by an upholstery change to tan leather, the 400 GT is also fitted with period-style radial tires and wire wheels. The four-liter DOHC V-12 engine is a sight to behold, topped by the sextet of Weber twin-choke sidedraft carburetors. A wealth of paperwork on file documents the Lamborghini’s rich history, provenance, maintenance, and restoration, in addition to correspondence with Lamborghini Polo Storico. As offered, 0463 is a handsomely presented and extraordinarily rare motorcar from the early years of Automobili Lamborghini.