Llama was never the most prestigious of the three major Spanish pistol makers, and in the 1980s they decided to have a try at an upscale new pistol. The design was done by an American, Gary Wilhelm, who worked with the Stoeger company (which was Llama’s US importer). The gun was offered in both .45 ACP and 9mm Parabellum, with the 9mm version offering a semi-double-stack 12 round magazine. The gun has a very complex fire control system, with rollers, ball bearings, and dual trigger bars for single and double action. It was also very expensive, costing some $600 when new (nearly double the price of many comparable pistols, like the S&W Model 39). It was only in production from 1982 until 1986, and was by all definitions a commercial flop. The less-than-elegant lines, cost, complexity, and Llama’s generally poor reputation combined to quickly sink it.