For a period of around three decades, the Jalpa was the last Lamborghini to use a V8 engine until the Urus arrived in 2018. However, in stock form, the sports car wasn’t super impressive in terms of performance, especially compared to the current generation of sports cars and supercars. But one Jalpa got a heart transplant with a significantly modified V8 and is now possibly the fastest Jalpa in the world.
Of course, this last statement can’t be confirmed because there could be unknown examples of the model that are quicker than this one but nevertheless, this black Jalpa is mighty quick. Before talking about its capabilities though, let’s see what a stock Jalpa offers.
With a 3.5-liter double overhead camshaft V8 engine, the predecessor of the Gallardo had 250 horsepower (186 kilowatts) in US specification. The mill was mated to a five-speed synchromesh manual transmission, sending power to the rear wheels. The Italian automaker advertised the Jalpa as being capable of 0 to 62 miles per hour (0 to 100 kilometers per hour) sprints in 6.0 seconds. For comparison, a stock seventh-generation Ford Fiesta ST covers that acceleration in 6.5 seconds. The Jalpa’s quarter-mile time was 15.4 seconds at 92 mph (148 kph).
And now about the car featured in the video at the top of this page. First, no – this isn’t a kit car that simply looks like a Japla. It’s number 397 of all 410 Jalpas produced and delivered, which means it is one of the latest assembled cars. But instead of its 3.5-liter V8, there’s a General Motors LS V8 mill with two giant turbos. The current output is unknown but more importantly, the car did a quarter-mile run in 8.992 seconds during the King of the Street weekend at Heathcote Raceway.
As the owner of the Jalpa explains in the video, he’s been working on the vehicle for more than a decade, constantly improving the powertrain and aiming for a better quarter-mile time. Just about three years ago, Nik said he’d be happy to make a run in the 9s but he is now beyond that goal by at least a second.
