By 1982, Lamborghini hadn't been offering a junior supercar for over three years, the P300 Silhouette ceasing production in May 1978. It had been a commercial failure with only 52 cars getting completed, however, Patrick Mimram arrived at the helm of Lamborghini during July 1980 (subsequently becoming owner in May 1981) and he rightly had faith in what was obviously a sound enough platform to challenge Porsche and Ferrari. Almost immediately, Mimram sanctioned the development of a Silhouette-based replacement to sell alongside the Countach.

Internally designated tipo P118/B and known as Jalpa, the revised model was to be an updated version of the aforementioned P118 Silhouette and Lamborghini used an old chassis (40058) for the prototype. Along similar conceptual lines to its predecessor, the Jalpa would be another two seat targa-topped V8 to compete directly with the likes of Ferrari¡Ë¢çE¢®Ec?s 308 GTS (later to become the 328) and Porsche's 911 Targa, both of which were enormously successful and dominated the marketplace. Manufactured between 1982 and '88, the Jalpa was a fast, pretty and fairly priced machine, but it made little impact and only 410 were ever made. Modifications to the existing Silhouette platform were relatively minor and included additional reinforcement around the subframe. There were also some suspension geometry changes as the Jalpa would run larger 16-inch O.Z Racing wheels as seen on Bertone's 1980 Athon concept. Following the departure of Paolo Stanzani, Lamborghini's Chief Engineer, Giulio Alfieri was drafted in from Maserati to further develop Stanzani's 90¡Ë¢çE¢®Ec¡Ë¢ç¢®¡¿¢®E¡Ëc V8 motor originally conceived for the Urraco.

Alfieri took displacement up to 3485cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 86 x 75mm respectively, the latter having been increased from 64.5mm. Output also rose, but not by as much as you might have expected, the Jalpa getting just five more horses from its extra half a litre. Output was now 255bhp at 7000rpm with compression remaining unchanged at 10.1:1 and four twin choke Weber 42 DCNF carburettors. Revised transmission ratios were introduced, the Jalpa's 158mph top speed and 0-60 time of of six seconds making a genuine alternative to a 308 or 911.

The job of modernising the Silhouette's bodywork was handed to Bertone who had penned both Lamborghini's previous V8 production cars. The Turinese firm produced a slightly chunkier design as forecast by 1980's Athon although a family lineage between the Jalpa and its predecessors was still abundantly clearly. The most noticeable changes were a new front spoiler housing a redesigned grille and a chunky matt black bumper. A slimline front bumper from the Silhouette was normally fitted after 1984. Wheelarch extensions were required to accomodate those flat face Campagnolo¡Ë¢çE¢®Ec?s originally shod with Pirelli P7¡Ë¢çE¢®Ec?s. A redesigned engine cover was either finished in grey (a la Silhouette) or body colour coded while all bar the very earliest examples got new tail light clusters. Despite the new car having been a little more rounded than the Silhouette, it's fair to say that some of Bertone¡Ë¢çE¢®Ec?s original magic had been lost in transition. The interior featured more luxuriously padded seats, a boxier instrument binnacle and a leather-covered three-spoke Nardi steering wheel. However, Bertone failed to deliver a cabin that was either as stylish as the Ferrari 308 or as practical as Porsche's 911.