Millionaire Italian industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini decided in the early 1960s to build better sports cars than Ferrari, although he'd never made any type of car. He thus built a new factory, recruited some of Italy's top sports car designers and rolled up his sleeves, with great success.

By 1969 some Lamborghinis had outdone Ferraris, and Ferruccio felt it was time for second-generation models -- one of which was the shatteringly fast Jarama 400 GT/400 GTS coupe. Lamborghini liked bullfighting, so the name of the Jarama's ("Yah-RAH-mah") was taken from the district in Spain that breeds fighting bulls.

The Jarama is a bargain in the classic exotic sports car market, with the 1970-73 400 GT version valued at $21,500-$43,000 in good to excellent condition and the slightly revised, more powerful 1973-76 400 GTS model at $23,500-$47,000. The Jarama cost about as much as a Ferrari or Maserati in the early 1970s, but more than four times what a Corvette cost. A total of 327 Jaramas were virtually hand-built, with 150 being the 400 GTS model.

The 1970-76 Jarama was introduced at the Geneva, Switzerland, auto show in March 1970 and replaced the smooth-looking Islero, which was called the "businessman's express." The Islero wasn't as racy as Lambor- ghini's sultry, radical Miura race-style sports car, which made Ferraris look dated, or the low-slung Espada four-seat VIP road rocket.

Although based on the Espada, the Jarama was essentially a two-seater with a tight backseat and was more of a pure sports car. It was Lamborghini's last front-engine, rear-drive model. Lamborghinis that followed -- including the sensational Countach -- had a mid-engine design, with the engine behind the passenger compartment.

As with Ferrari, Lambor-ghini was a small outfit that used parts from existing models to build new ones. The Jarama thus used a new "unibody" floor plan derived from the Espada's. But 10.6 inches were cut from the middle of the Espada's platform. That gave the Jarama the shortest wheelbase in Lamborghini history at 93.7 inches, which contributed to its agility.

The Jarama was mostly mechanically unchanged from the Espada, but the body was entirely new.

The Jarama looks like a typical square, angular 1970s Italian exotic, although a unique feature was four headlights partly hidden when not in use by electrically operated lids that pivoted down, like a snake's eyelids, when the lights were on. Using the Espada's wider tracks gave the Jarama an athletic, broad-shouldered look. Husky wheel arch flares covered high-speed tires, and there also were small twin hood ducts and trapezoidal side-window openings.

Generally, though, the Jarama was a roomy, glassy coupe with an airy, thin-pillar roofline. The docile car looked more bold than beautiful -- not as thrilling as other Lamborghinis. But Ferruccio wanted it for prosperous, mature car lovers who desired a fast, easily driven car for long-distance business travel -- much like himself, in fact. Fold-down rear seatbacks provided extra cargo room.

The 400 GTS looked nearly identical to the first version. It just added a thin, wide hood scoop, side fender vents and new five-bolt wheels. The GTS also had a revised interior with slimmer front seatbacks, a reworked instrument panel with better controls and superior heat and noise insulation. Also new were available narrow, removable roof panels.

The 400 GT had a 350-horsepower version of the Espada's smooth, sophisticated Lamborghini 4-liter V-12, which was set way back for optimum weight distribution and handling. The GTS version got a 365-horsepower version of that engine.

Only a five-speed manual transmission initially was offered, but a Chrysler three-speed TorqueFlite automatic (one of the world's best then) became available in 1974.

While heavy for its size, the Jarama did 0-60 mph in 6.8 to 7.2 seconds and could hit 160 mph. It was especially fast for the early 1970s, when the performance of most sports cars was seriously hampered by new U.S. emissions and safety regulations.

England's Motor magazine said the Jarama had a "superb ride" and called its roadholding "outstanding." It reported that the car's performance was "exciting, the noise exhilarating, the brakes and stability at speed superb. At speed, the Jarama is impressively stable, maintaining an arrow-straight course at its natural cruising gait of 130 mph."

The Jarama's styling has aged well, and its V-12 remains a gem. For the most part, it's overqualified for American driving conditions.

Dan Jedlicka is leaving the Sun-Times on a full-time basis as of this weekend but will continue to write about the auto world for the newspaper. He also plans on writing online road tests and other auto-related material in the near future. If you sign up for the mailing list at danjedlicka.com, you will be e-mailed when his Web site fully launches.