What is a Jota car?
Lamborghini is a brand with history, and when you spend time digging into that history, you may run into the term Jota. What is a Jota car from Lamborghini? That question actually has an interesting answer, and we will dive into it here.
What does the word Jota mean?
Unlike most other Lamborghini names, Jota does not have its origins in bullfighting, but it does stem from Spanish culture. In fact, Jota is how the Spanish pronounce the letter J. Why is the letter J significant? It actually stems from an FIA classification.
The FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile or in English the International Automobile Federation. This federation runs several racing groups including F1. To qualify as a racecar for its events, a vehicle must meet the specs for a racing category covered in the FIA’s Appendix J. Thus, the J or Jota is really referring to a race spec car.
Read More: What is the significance of the Countach?
What was the first Jota model?
The first Jota model was actually a Miura developed by the famed test driver and automotive engineer Bob Wallace in 1970. It had more horsepower, less weight, and significant changes all around. Unfortunately, only one model was made, and it crashed and burned in 1971.
Other historical Jota models
Though not connected to Bob Wallace, Lamborghini gave the Lamborghini Diablo the Jota treatment again with a total of 28 kits that they built in 1995. These Jota models were no longer street legal after the conversion. This made them truly unique and truly rare to this day.
Changes to the Diablo included a forced air intake on the roofline, a horsepower and torque boost, and further interior and exterior modifications. The kit also opened up the exhaust making this model particularly loud. This was a large contributing factor to the Jota version of the Diablo not being street legal.
Read More: What is the history of the Diablo?
Future Jota models
For years, there have been rumors of an Aventador Jota model, but no official Lamborghini plans or press releases. However, with the success of the Huracan Performante, and the recent release of the Spyder version, we wouldn’t be surprised if an Aventador Jota gets announced in the coming months or years.
Will Lamborghini ever make a sedan?
