Perhaps the word "Lamborghini" conjures up a very specific image in your mind. It is one of the world's most famous supercars, born of Italian craftsmanship and love of speed. But the true origins of the supercar began with tractor parts and abandoned lots.
Ferruccio Lamborghini made a lot of money making tractors. He served in the Italian Air Force Mechanic Corps and had a talent for repairing engines. After the war in 1945, he salvaged the army surplus left by the Allied forces and started manufacturing tractors in his small garage.
Soon the demand for the powerful Lamborghini tractors grew so much that he opened a factory and became one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery in Italy. This success led to the creation of a second company for the production of heating equipment and air conditioning systems. Ferruccio Lamborghini has become one of the richest people in the country.
Mr. Lamborghini could buy anything he wanted and cars were one of his interests.
He had a Jaguar, a Maserati, a luxury Mercedes and two Ferraris – one white for him and one black for his wife. But Ferrari's clutch continued to trouble him, requiring frequent repairs at the Ferrari factory.
The problem recurred, so Lamborghini asked its tractor mechanic to keep an eye on it. As it turned out, Ferrari used the same clutch element that they used on their tractors. Lamborghini was furious. He paid 10 lira for the tractor clutch, but Ferrari charged him 1,000 lira for the same part. And Lamborghini was appalled that Ferrari's beautiful cars were actually built from tractor parts.
Armed with this discovery, he rushed to Ferrari headquarters and demanded to speak to the founder himself, Enzo Ferrari. When he complained, Enzo Ferrari shouted at Lamborghini saying the problem was not the car but the driver. He told Lamborghini to go back to his tractors and leave him alone.
This humiliation inspired Ferruccio Lamborghini to create his own high-end sports car.
He built a factory, hired some Ferrari mechanics and engineers, and designed a high-speed luxury car that could reach 240 km/h.
The first model left the factory in 1963 and was named the Lamborghini 350 GT. Lamborghini chose its own zodiac sign Taurus (Taurus) as the logo for its new car. That day marked the beginning of the bitter decades-long rivalry between Ferrari and Lamborghini.
This is Lamborghini's origin story. It was a supercar born from 10 liter tractor parts and humiliation.
On April 28, 1916, Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of the company that bears his name and is best known for its luxurious, high-performance automobiles, was born in Italy.
After World War II, Lamborghini established a company near Bologna, Italy, to produce tractors from repurposed military equipment. He later expanded into other businesses, including air conditioning and heating systems, and became wealthy. Lamborghini's success allowed him to buy a variety of luxury sports cars, including a Ferrari that was considered one of the best cars of its time. After mechanical difficulties with their Ferrari, Lamborghini decided to start their own rival sports car company, even hiring a former Ferrari engineer. Automobili Lamborghini was officially founded in 1963 in Sant'Agata Bologna, Italy, and in the same year it launched its first car, the Lamborghini 350 GTV, a two-seater coupe with a V12 engine.
The company logo featured the figure of a bull, a reference to Ferruccio Lamborghini's zodiac sign Taurus. Several Lamborghini model names are associated with bulls or bullfighting, including the Miura (named after fighting bull breeder Don Eduardo Miura), a mid-engined sports car launched in the mid-1960s that brought Lamborghini international fame and prestige among car lovers. For good height and exquisite design.
In the early 1970s, Lamborghini's tractor business ran into trouble, and he eventually sold his interest in the sports car business and retired to his vineyard. Automobili Lamborghini changed hands several times, and in the late 1990s it was acquired by the German automaker Volkswagen. The company continued to produce high-performance cars, including the Murciélago (capable of exceeding 200 mph) and the Gallardo. Ferruccio Lamborghini died on February 20, 1993 at the age of 76.