Lamborghini is a world-famous Italian brand that specializes in the production of luxury supercars as well as tractor equipment. The company is headquartered in Sant'Agata Bolognese near Bologna. Today, the company is owned by a major German automotive concern, Audi AG.
Ferruccio Lamborghini - brand founder
Talking about one of the most famous automobile brands in the modern world, it is impossible not to give a few words to its creator - Ferruccio Lamborghini (Ferruccio Lamborghini). World War II forced him to go to serve in the Italian army, where he served as a mechanic. According to colleagues and contemporaries, Lamborghini had real talent in this area, which allowed him to quickly and successfully move up the career ladder.
As you know, Italy was originally one of the Axis countries, but with the fall of the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini (Benito Mussolini), she left their composition, ceasing to be an ally of Germany. Thus Ferruccio Lamborghini began to fight on the side of his former enemies, serving their military vehicles. This played a key role in the fate of the Italian, since it was thanks to the army service, he mastered the necessary range of knowledge and skills in the field of automotive engineering and the device of both Italian and foreign engines and mechanisms.
At the end of the war, Lamborghini returned home to Italy, where he planned to open his own business. By this time, the situation in the world had stabilized, and therefore the British government began to rapidly sell off the remnants of its military equipment, stationed in Italy (its transportation back to the UK was too expensive). Upon learning this, a young and enterprising Italian was able to quickly develop in his head an initial business plan: He began to actively buy spare parts and components, which he subsequently intended to use for the production of agricultural machinery. Thus formed a small enterprise specializing in the creation of tractors.
Lamborghini’s decision turned out to be very successful from a commercial point of view, as agricultural machinery was exactly what Italy, devastated and war-worn, needed.
It is noteworthy that in the implementation of tractors the Italian was helped by the skills acquired by him during the military service. The acquired knowledge helped him maximize the level of tractor performance, as well as increase their service life. The supply of high-quality and relevant goods to the domestic market allowed the developing company to gain a foothold in the system of market relations and continue its modernization.
Just ten years after the founding of the company, Ferruccio Lamborghini managed to make a rather big fortune, which made it possible for him to buy an expensive car from the luxury segment. As the story goes, his choice fell on one of the Ferrari models, popular at that time, and, according to a more common version, this was the impetus that contributed to the emergence of the Lamborghini automobile house.
How the company was created
Currently, there are a number of versions regarding how the automobile firm Ferruccio Lamborghini was founded, but all of them, one way or another, come down to one thing - a major quarrel that erupted with Enzo Ferrari in the 60s of the last century.
According to the most widespread and probable theory, when acquiring a new model of the 250 GT car from Ferrari, Ferruccio was not completely satisfied with its quality and certain limited capabilities.
Wanting to share his impressions and comments, he arrived at the Ferrari factory. Enzo Ferrari did not appreciate the colleague’s emotional impulse and only advised that the Lamborghini should concentrate on tractor production, as he doesn’t understand anything in sports cars.
The vexed Ferruccio returned to his own factory, where he began to disassemble the transmission of his newly purchased car. He was surprised to find that most of the parts and components of the machine are very similar to those used for the production of tractor equipment. Having found a suitable replacement in the stock of the factory, he replaced the clutch parts with those that seemed more suitable to him, and after assembly all the problems were eliminated.
This episode helped Lamborghini realize what he really wants to do. So, the thought of creating a car of its own production, which would turn the whole engineering world, firmly settled in his head.
According to his initial diagrams and drawings, the future car was supposed to have a rather economical "V12" engine, which was previously used in Ferrari cars. To realize his goals, an entrepreneurial Italian signed a profitable contract with Giotto Bizzarrini, a brilliant mechanic who had previously worked with Enzo Ferrari.
The first car was shown to the public in 1963 at the annual international auto show held in Torino. It was the prototype of the preceding 350 GTV. One year later in 1964, after a successful premiere presentation, the production Lamborghini 350 GT was first released from the assembly line.
The debut car Lamborghini won the love and recognition of the public, sold out in record time. The resounding success of the first model contributed to the development of the brand in the automotive industry, and already in 1966 the next successful series of “400 GT” cars was launched. It is noteworthy that it was the Lamborghini 400 GT that became the necessary stage in the development of the company, which subsequently allowed it to create one of its legendary Lamborghini Miura models.
By 1971, Ferruccio Lamborghini again hit the public, creating the latest prototype of the future "Lamborghini Countach". The car had trendy doors for that period, which opened in a vertical direction, air intakes located at the rear, and also an engine of unique power, the volume of which reached 4 liters.
From the very moment of its foundation and up to the beginning of the 1970s, the Lamborghini brand has been developing quite progressively, increasing both its intellectual and economic potential. However, in 1972, for a number of reasons, a lucrative agricultural export contract with South America was terminated. This plunged the firm into a protracted crisis, and prompted Ferruccio to sell his stake to Fiat. Gradually, all tractor production became owned by a large Italian concern Same Deutz-Fahr Group, which owns a controlling stake in Lamborghini tractor production to this day.
In the period of the 70s of the last century, the only thing that allowed the company to continue to function was successful sales from the Countach model. However, car manufacturing alone could not cover all of Lamborghini’s expenses, which forced Ferruccio to sell off his remaining blocks of shares. So, the company acquires new owners in the face of major Swiss investors - René Leimer and Georges-Henri Rossetti.
The global oil crisis, which erupted in the early 70s of the twentieth century, contributed to the brand’s not very successful position. During this period, cars fell sharply in price, and Lamborghini faced another financial problem: the delivery of spare parts and components was disrupted, and therefore cars sold out in advance could fall into the hands of their owners only after a two-year wait. A series of minor setbacks and troubles led to the fact that in 1978 the company had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. The Italian state court was obliged to sell the company at auction. The new owner of the Lamborghini was the Swiss brothers Mimra.
In the 1980s, the automobile company continued to change its owners. So, the next buyer of Lamborghini was a large international corporation Chrysler. It is noteworthy that during this period the developers and engineers of the company carried out active work towards the creation of a new automobile model. The created machine was a kind of improved and more modern option in the past successful “Lamborghini Countach”. She received the sonorous and memorable name "Diablo".
The proposed competent scheme for the development of the enterprise, as well as the newly created revolutionary car model, helped Lamborghini regain its former greatness and again enter the international arena. The serial production of Lamborghini Diablo ushered in a new era of “rebirth" of the brand.
However, despite some successes, all the difficulties and problems of a financial company were not resolved to the end. And in this regard, Chrysler also had to sell Lamborghini. This time the company was acquired by a large Indonesian investment group "M'tec", Tommy Suharto took the patronage of the automobile brand, but he also failed to develop a sufficiently progressive plan for development and modernization, which would allow to eliminate all the growing difficulties of the company. Thus, in 1998, Lamborghini again changed its owner, and now the Audi AG concern began to control the controlling stake in the automobile brand.
Lamborghini and Audi AG
It was “Audi AG” that turned out to be the very owner who, finally, was able to organize a smart and progressive production of the company. Under his influence, the design of supercar cars produced by the brand has changed significantly: they have become more versatile, modern and stylish, ideally suited to the rhythm of life in a noisy metropolis.
In collaboration with Audi AG Lamborghini, a new car model was released, called the Murciélago. It was distinguished by revolutionary technical capabilities, as well as one of the most sophisticated exterior decoration among sports cars.
Today, Lamborghini cars are considered one of the symbols, attributes of a luxurious lifestyle. Stylish, high-quality, expensive, with unique exclusive components, they literally fall in love with customers from all over the world.
Interesting facts about Lamborghini
- It is noteworthy that Ferruccio Lamborghini, the founder of the brand, was the full owner of the company for only 9 years.
- Any presented model of the brand has a unique, selective design, the development of which the leading auto designers of our time are working on.
- In 2001, the grand opening of the original exclusive Lamborghini Museum took place. It is located at Via Modena, 12, 40019 Sant'Agata Bolognese. In 2016, it was reconstructed, the presented expositions also underwent significant changes.
- The “Lamborghini Miura” demonstration took place as part of the auto show in 1965, and was held personally by Ferruccio Lamborghini, and by the end of the 70s of the last century more than one hundred (111) production cars were launched on the market.
- The first car released by the brand was decorated with an image of a bull. This animal was chosen for a reason - Ferruccio Lamborghini is a Taurus according to the zodiac sign.
- The fastest model of the company is considered "Murcielago R-GT". She has a speed of up to 370 km / h.
- Lamborghini also produces unique marine engines that are used in motor boat racing.
- Lamborghini takes an active part in Formula 1 races.
- Over the course of its half-century history, the Italian brand has produced over 30,000 cars.
- Model "Lamborghini Gallardo" is especially popular among the police in Italy.
