lambodiecast

A few months ago, KK-Scale released four different colors of the classic Lamborghini Islero S from 1969. I’ve already published my review on the classic silver-on-black car, mainly to compare it to the Cult Scale Models version in the same Argento color, but now I present to you this beautiful dark red metallic version, a color called Bordeaux Metallizzato, with a nice tan interior.

Personally, I think this is one of the best color combinations on the Lamborghini Islero 1/18 scale model so far, I really like it, and KK-Scale managed to put a lot of metallic flakes in the paint, keeping in mind we are talking about a €72 model, this is a really, really nice scale model of that classic V12 Lamborghini, from an era when we still had front-mounted V12 GT cars from Sant’Agata.

And get this: the Lamborghini Islero was actually the late Ferruccio Lamborghini’s favorite car; he used a Azzurro Cielo (sky blue) one as a daily driver for a long time, which makes sense as Ferruccio founded Lamborghini to build high-power, V12-engined, luxurious and comfortable GT cars, Gran Turismo cars, the later supercars like the Miura and Countach weren’t really what Ferruccio was into initially.

There is even a rumor that while the Lamborghini Islero design is attributed to Mario Marazzi, it was in fact Ferruccio Lamborghini himself that had a substantial influence on the overall design; some sources even state Ferruccio designed the Islero and just had Carrozzeria Marazzi build it, the company founded by Mario together with other former employees of Carrozzeria Touring, after the bankruptcy of the latter.

So back to the Lamborghini Islero S, an improved version of the original Islero launched in 1968, recognizable by the added air vents behind the front wheels, however, the biggest difference could be found on the interior, new seats with higher backrests at the front offered more comfort and were finished in leather on the sides with velours inserts in the center, many Islero were ordered with a full leather interior.

A fold-down armrest split the rear seat, toggle switches replaced the earlier pull units and a glove box was installed on the dashboard, the dials on the dashboard were grouped more logically ... still, the major improvement could be found in overall workmanship ... the Islero S was just better made than the earlier model ... it made this one of the best-looking and best-performing 2+2 on the market back in 1969.

Sadly, just 100 units of the Lamborghini Islero S were ever built between 1969 and 1970 when the Jarama took over the two-door 2+2 V12 GT range from Sant’Agata, note that just 5 of these Islero S came in RHD, two went to Australia and three got sold in UK, one of which was driven by Sir Roger Moore in a 1970 movie, sadly not in a James Bond movie.

So how does this 1/18 model from KK-Scale look in the end? I personally like it a whole lot better than the Cult Scale Models version I added to the collection earlier, but I do have to admit the brown metallic on tan one from Cult does look really good too; still, this darker red metallic one is my favorite in the end.

One detail that really impressed me from KK-Scale on these four colors of the Lamborghini Islero S, they fitted a different license plate to each one: the blue one comes with a PROVA license plate, the green one has a ROMA plate, the silver one rolls with a plate from Milano, while this red one has a Vicenza license plate; that’s just amazing attention to detail.

You have to keep in mind that you are looking at a sealed diecast model here; that’s usually priced at €75 or less. Nothing opens; you can’t see the engine, but you can check out the interior through the windows, and it is really nice, especially at this price point.

So if you are looking to add one of these, mostly forgotten front-engined V12 Lamborghini GT models to your collection, I can wholeheartedly recommend you get one of the four shades released by KK-Scale, whichever color you like best, you can’t go wrong with any of them in my opinion.

Originally released in April 2026.

our RATING

Exterior		8/10
Interior		7/10
Engine	Not visible
Accuracy		8/10
Overall rating		8/10

Original price on April 22, 2026 : € 72