Bringing a Legend Back to Life: The Lamborghini 400GT Restoration – Part 1

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Welcome to the first entry in what will become a full series chronicling one of the most exciting restorations we've ever undertaken at AutoRARA.

If you’ve been following us on Facebook, you’ll already know we’ve been busy working on something special: a 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2—a V12 grand tourer that helped define the Lamborghini name in the 1960s. Now, after months of preparation, cutting, welding, and sanding, we're thrilled to announce the project has reached a major milestone: paint.

And not just any paint. This 400GT is now resplendent in Rosso Alfa, the original shade it wore when it rolled out of Sant’Agata Bolognese nearly six decades ago.

But this isn't just a quick respray. This is a concours-level build—and the first time the car will be shown publicly will be as a painted shell at this year’s Concours de Elegance.

A Rare Slice of Lamborghini History

Let’s rewind a bit.

The Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 is already rare in its own right—only 247 were built between 1966 and 1968. But the car now in our workshop is rarer still: one of just four UK-delivered examples, imported by Mitchell & Britton in the late '60s. It’s been off the road for over 20 years, quietly resting in a dry garage, waiting for someone to bring it back to life.

When the car arrived at AutoRARA, it was complete but tired. That meant we had an incredible foundation to work from—but also a huge responsibility to get things right.

And that’s what this blog series is all about: showing you, step-by-step, what goes into restoring a true automotive icon to concours standards. We’re pulling back the curtain and sharing the journey.

Where We’re At: Metalwork Done, Paint Complete

Getting to this point has involved hundreds of hours of work on this classic car restoration. The shell was stripped back to bare metal, and each panel was carefully assessed, repaired, or replaced to ensure originality. We’ve worked with marque specialists and Lamborghini historians to stay true to the original design—right down to the smallest details.

The Rosso Alfa paint was chosen using factory-correct references, then expertly applied by our team to concours standards. The results speak for themselves.

This summer, we’ll be showing the car as a fully painted shell—not something you often see at high-end concours events. But that’s exactly why we’re doing it. We want to highlight the craftsmanship and discipline that go into this kind of restoration before the car is reassembled.

If you're attending Concours de Elegance this year, make sure to stop by and see it in person. It’s not often you get to see a Lamborghini in this kind of "in-progress" glory.

What’s Next?

This is only the beginning.

With the paint stage now behind us, we’re turning our attention to the mechanical rebuild, which will include:

• Rebuilding the original 4.0L V12 engine
• Restoring the interior with period-correct trim
• Recommissioning all mechanicals, wiring, and suspension

We’ll document every step right here on the blog—and over on our Lamborghini 400GT Build Diary, where you’ll find detailed entries, photos, and behind-the-scenes stories from the workshop.

So stay tuned. The next chapter is going to get noisy.

Thanks for reading,

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—The AutoRARA Team

👉 Explore more projects at AutoRARA
👉 Follow the Lamborghini 400GT Build Diary

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