The first Lamborghini off-road, that wasn't a tractor, was the Cheetah, it was built on contract for the American firm Mobility Technology International, which were contacted by the U.S. military to design and built an all-terrain vehicle. M.T.I. would sell the car while it would be built in Sant'Agatha, Lamborghini didn't have the time to completely design the Cheetah itself, so basic instructions were taken from M.T.I., who unfortunately just copied a very well known vehicle, the FMC XR 311, which resulted in threads of legal action by FMC against M.T.I. and Lamborghini when the final prototype was presented to the people on the 1977 Geneva Auto Show.
The Cheetah was designed and built in San José, California, after completing the prototype, MTI sent it to Sant'Agatha were the Lamborghini engineers and technicians carried out a few modifications and brought it up to the production standards.
However, this was only the first of a series of mistakes made with the Cheetah, Lamborghini decided to use a big 5.9-Litre Chrysler engine, coupled to a 3-speed automatic gearbox, driving the four wheels, the engine was mounted in the rear which caused the weight balance to be completely wrong, resulting in very poor road-manners. The Cheetah was designed to carry four armed people and a driver, a Fiber glass body was used, but the Cheetah was far too heavy for the underpowered engine, so overall performance was very poor.
This engine was water-proofed and the radiator was protected by an infra-red detection system. The decission to use an American made engine was probably made to gain the U.S.-Army contract, but it was very soon obvious the U.S. wouldn't invest in anything built outside the United States, and the Cheetah was rejected almost at once, it was however tested in dessert runs, and was subsequently crashed during one of those test, the Cheetah was completely destroyed, but the wreck was never returned to Italy, it's whereabouts today are unknown.
The construction of the Cheetah took a lot of money, which should have been used to design and built the BMW E-26 prototype, which would become the successfull M-1 (see entry), but the money ran out and the production of the BMW couldn't be started on the agreed date, resulting in the loss of the contract.
The Cheetah was offered at $25.000 at that time, and an brochure was even made in Arab to attract the attention of the wealthy shiekhs, but neither the Army or any Arms manufacturer was interested, and after the crash of the prototype, Lamborghini didn't built a second Cheetah, but was left in even worse financial problems than before, things were looking very bad for Lamborghini in 1977, but they would be back, even with a successfull four-wheel drive all-terrain Lamborghini.
Specifications
Years built : 1977, built on contract for Mobility Technology Int.
Production : 1
Chassisnr. : n.a.
Presentation : March 1977 Geneva Auto Show
Type of car : Four-seater, off-road vehicle
Designed by : M.T.I.
Built by : M.T.I.
Dimensions
Wheelbase : 3000 mm
Overall length : 4320 mm
Overall width : 1880 mm
Overall height : 1580 mm
Front track : 1520 mm
Rear track : 1520 mm
Ground clear. : 280 mm
Front overhang : n.a.
Rear overhang : n.a.
Weight : 2042 kg
Distribution : n.a. front / rear
Chassis
Structure : Tubular steel
Body : Synthetic Fibre bodywork
Suspension : Torsion bars front and rear with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes : Ventilated discs on front and rear wheels (Countach)
Steering type : Unassisted, type n.a.
Turning circle : n.a.
Front tyre size : n.a.
Rear tyre size : n.a.
Type : Tubeless tires with an internal safety tyre, containing an inflated inner tube, width 35.6 cm, outside diameter 98.6 cm (Possible Mickey Thomson Baja King)
Front rim size : n.a.
Rear rim size : n.a.
Type : Pressed steel
Engine
Type : Chrysler V-8, rear mounted, permanent four wheel drive
Distribution : Overhead camshaft, rods and rocker arms
Main bearings : 5
Cyl. Capacity : 5898 cc
Bore & stroke : 101.6 x 90.9 mm
Compr. ratio : 8.4:1
Max. power : 183 bhp at 4000 rpm (290 bhp in turbocharged version)
Max. torque : 32 Kgm at 3500 rpm
Cooling system: Water cooled
Ignition : Coil and one distributors
Plugs : n.a.
Electr. system : 12 V (24 V for radio)
Alternator : n.a.
Fuel system : Electric pump, 1 double Holley carburetor
Fuel type : n.a.
Fuel cons. : n.a. (Range : 620 Km)
Lubrication : Wet sump
Drivetrain
Type : Chrysler A 727 3 speed + rev. automatic with torque convertor, with differential at both front and rear
Clutch : Dry-single plate, hydraulically operated
1st gear ratio : n.a.
2nd gear ratio : n.a.
3rd gear ratio : n.a.
Rev. gear ratio : n.a.
Final drive ratio : 3.27:1 to 5.89:1
Performance
Top speed : 167 Km/h on road surface, 140 Km/h on sand
0 - 100 Km/h : 9.0 sec
Standing Km. : n.a.
Capacities :
Fuel : 133 Lt
Engine oil : 7.6 Lt.
Cooling system : 17 Lt.
Luggage : n.a.Depth of water that may be forded in the vehicle : 76 mm
Slope negotiating capacity : climbing or descending : 85 %
Slope negotiating capacity : laterally : 55 %
Maximum height of obstacles that can be negotiated vertically : 53 cmPrice : Car has never been sold, but projected price at $ 25,000
Current value : Original car was totally destroyed in an accident
