Lambo Boat: Lamborghini V12 Marine Engine
For the Lamborghini collector that has everything, may we present you with this L-900 V12 marine engine. Lamborghini produced marine engines for owners of high-speed, high-performance vessels, in extremely limited quantities, and the seller speculates that fewer than 50 were produced. The history on these two engines is intriguing, as the seller claims to have found them in Germany still new in the crates after a clearly passionate original owner bought them from the factory as back-ups (yes, two spare Lamborghini V12s) and never put them into service. One of the two engines is for sale and is listed here on eBay for $175,000 or best offer.
The fact that these engines sat unused in private storage is perhaps the most intriguing part of the story. Obviously, the circle of owners that specialize in Lamborghini cars and parts is an elite network, so buying a spare engine or two is likely a matter of pocket change. But it does make you wonder if the engines were forgotten about as interests changed and Lamborghini’s exit from the marine world signaled that spare parts and support would soon be dwindling. But let’s not forget one thing: if you’re the sort of person who can buy two spare V12 boat engines, chances are Lamborghini will answer the phone when you call.
Given the engines are on display at the showrooms of Lamborghini specialist (and “specialist” is an understatement) Curated in Miami, I’m curious if the company’s founder, John Temerian is the actual seller. If you follow John and the cars and collections he’s able to track down, it’s hardly a surprise that someone of his background could dig two crated V12 marine engines out of hiding in Germany. In addition, the seller’s other eBay listings suggest he has quite a stash of some absolutely bonkers Lamborghini spares, so the connection to Curated seems likely. Even if it’s not John himself, the fact that the engines are on display in the Miami showroom is a good sign.
Why, you might ask? Because if you’re going to spend $175,000 (or best offer) on an Italian V12 marine engine, you should probably buy it from a vendor who knows a thing or two about restoring Lamborghinis from stem to stern. Even though these engines sat in storage since new, the seller still proceeded to have the engines completely broken down and rebuilt by none other than Valentino Balboni, the former chief test driver of Lamborghini (which is another clue that the seller is Mr. Temerian as he’s referenced a personal relationship with Balboni more than once). As mentioned above, this listing is clearly catnip for a Lamborghini enthusiast who already has a massive collection but sees the marine V12 engine as a missing piece.
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Comments
I’d love to hear one run! No air cleaners? Relax, there’s no dust on the water, silly. Let me just check my holdings in the Cayman Islands, these will go well next to the cutaway hemi I just,,,what’s that? They are? They did? Oh, oh,,,gotta go,,,
Knock yourself out:
L-900 Marine engine cold start – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPqKd4NR-2M (Copy and paste link to view)
L-900 Marine engine cold start 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcO8eeHX8SM (Copy and paste link to view)
L-900 Marine engine cold start 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av60eVYseiA (Copy and paste link to view)
Be sure to bring a wet suit and a spare dingy so you can swim or row back when that V-12 quits about a mile offshore.
Yes, I don’t think I’m fully awake yet . . . still recovering from the nightmare I had last night, wherein I not only owned a boat, but it had an Italian engine.
Here is a boat with 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpnlhKbM7Us
Worked for Hustler Powerboats when their showboat and APBA offshore pace boat was a 50′ powered by three of these, the upper 650 hp versions. The sound starting all three dockside was something never forgotten. 101 on the gun through #7 drives and Lab props. Couldn’t sell it with the Lambos, parts availability and skill set to keep running scared guys I guess. Sold with big mercrusers dropped in, always wondered what happened to the V12s.
Oh, and zero breakdowns in two years as pace boat and three as factory demo.
Seller has 487 listings for sale, mostly all Lambo. parts, and all mighty pricey!!
So help me out here…is a marine engine a repurposed car engine? What makes one different from the other? Seems like a lot of trouble to go to for Lambo to design a “marine engine” where they only intend to produce 50 units.
These are 9 liter engines with nothing other than general layout for comparison to their automotive engines. They might have wanted to do another run but as Lamborghini is to Chevrolet they wouldn’t want to be Mercruiser either. “Normal” marine engines are better thought of as marinized truck engines than auto. Four bolt mains, big torque cams, heavy duty stuff to live at a continuous rpm in a barely ventilated enclosure.
Schooner is right about the cams and bearings. I salvaged a 427 Chevrolet engine that was one of two in a houseboat. The trick is that in this twin-engine setup, one runs in one direction, and one runs in the other. I had the backward-running one. I had to change the cam and timing set to reverse the rotation. The engine was great. It was date-coded early 1969. In fact, the block had the same casting numbers as the ones used in the 427/435 1969 Corvette. It ended up in a 1960 Chevrolet Biscayne 2 dr.
“marine engine” … semper fi
In days gone by, long ago, I worked at the Ford Foundry in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. We built the 351 Ford V8 engines from liquid metal poured into castings. ( Not the Cleveland product). There was a special staging area for marine engines, one rotating counterclockwise, the other clockwise. It was a small piece of a giant engine assembly factory. I am reading the writeup for the V12’s and there is nothing mentioned about the special timing and rotation of the pair of engines. I doubt it was an assembly problem that limited the build to 50 units.. My guess would be that Lamborghini built the engines to be sold as single marine powerplants in an offline sub assembly alongside of the regular production engine for their cars. A buyer of an engine like this needs to know what they are doing. It is not a thing of speculation. An air breather is an eventual requirement.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vpnlhKbM7Us
Riva Aquarama Lamborghini – Tuning the Most Beautiful Boat in the World | Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop
Marine engines have gaskets that don’t disappear when exposed to salt water, they usually have water-cooled exhaust manifolds – which seem to be missing here – they have sea-water pumps to bring cooling water into the engine, or into a sea-water cooling system.
Note the spigots at the end of the exhaust tubes. Those are wet exhaust outlets. Marine headers are double walled, a dry exhaust header inside of a wet cooling header
Thank you.
650hp out of a v 12 where parts are ridiculously overpriced IF they’re even available 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’ll stick with my 632ci 1000 hp on pump gas where parts are readily available
You’re right Mike, but you won’t have the Panache of having a Lambo engine! (There would be a grinning emoji here if I knew how to find one.)