10 Amazing Lamborghini Facts!
Lamborghini is one of the most exclusive car brands in the world. This luxury car brand is only available to the rich and famous and is an automobile that most people can only ever dream of owning. When asked what car they would buy if they won the lottery, many people’s response would be a Lamborghini. This Italian car is known for its speed, power, and beauty. In turn, this has led to it being associated with status, wealth, and luxury. Car enthusiasts are intrigued by how this car is manufactured to achieve such stunning results and would love the opportunity to drive such a vehicle just once. Although Lamborghini is a well-known company and people can easily recognize the car, there are few people who know further details about this luxury vehicle and the company that manufacture it. The company has a long and interesting history and has manufactured many stunning cars. Here are 20 interesting facts about Lamborghini.
The Company was Founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini
Lamborghini was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini. He was born on April 28, 1916, in Renazzo, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. As a youngster, he had an interest in farming machinery and mechanics. He studied at the Fratelli Taddia technical institute before he was drafted into the Italian Royal Air Force in 1940 to serve as a mechanic. Following the war, he worked as a mechanic and engineer before starting his own business. He was married three times and had two children. Ferruccio retired from the industrial aspects of his business in 1974. However, he still maintained several business interests. He moved to an expansive estate called ‘La Fiorita’ next to Lake Trasimeno in Umbria. The estate covered a whopping 740 acres. He felt he had returned to his farming roots and spent time producing his own wine and hunting. Another way he enjoyed spending time was on his personal golf course he had built on his land. Ferruccio Lamborghini died on February 20, 1993, in a hospital in Perugia. He had suffered a heart attack fifteen days prior to his death. He was 76 years of age.
Lamborghini’s Were Originally Tractors
Although Lamborghini is now associated with luxury cars, the company originally made tractors, and this is a type of vehicle they still make to this day. He started his tractor company in 1947. After the war, he recognized an emerging market for agricultural vehicles and equipment. He used the parts of a former military vehicle to create his first ‘Carioca’ tractor. Based on the success of this tractor, he founded his first company ‘Lamborghini Trattori’. His tractors stood out because of the fuel atomizer that Lamborghini had created himself. One problem for farmers was the cost of petrol. Lamborghini designed the tractors, so they would start using petrol but would then switch to using diesel. This was a cost-effective solution for those working in agriculture.
Lamborghini was Made as a result of a Challenge from Enzo Ferrari
Lamborghini is now a direct competitor of the Ferrari in the field of luxury cars. Bizarrely, it is because of Enzo Ferrari that Lamborghini even exists. Lamborghini was running a successful agricultural vehicles business at the same time that Enzo Ferrari had established his cars as a top brand. Ferruccio was a huge fan of sports cars and owned a Ferrari 250 GT. One problem he had with this car was the clutch. Ferrari used agricultural clutches and Ferruccio did not like this, especially when it broke. He turned directly to Enzo about the problem and the two clashed. Enzo had a fiery temper and his response was that Ferrucchio should concentrate on tractors rather than concern himself with the workings of sports cars. As legend has it, Lamborghini took this as a personal challenge and decided to create his own sports car. Accepting the challenge was a risk that paid off.
Ferruccio Lamborghini Disagreed with Motor Racing
Many luxury automobile manufacturers also have a racing team. For example, both Ferrari and Maserati have teams who compete in motor racing events. However, motor racing is something that Ferruccio Lamborghini has always disagreed with. The famous Italian engineer considered it a waste of time and resources and refused to start a racing team. This became a strict rule within the Lamborghini company. In recent years, this is something the company has had a rethink about and they have now developed a noticeable presence in the motor racing industry. They have collaborated with the Swiss watchmaker brand Blancpain to form Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.
Famous Designers Have Worked for Lamborghini
The design of Lamborghinis is one of the things for which this brand is best-known. The design of each of the models is not the work of one individual as there is a whole team of people involved. Over the years, Lamborghini has collaborated with many famous designers so that the final results allow them to release a stunning looking car. Just some of the designers who have worked for or collaborated with Lamborghini are Touring, Bertone, Marcello Gandini, ItalDesign, Franco Scaglione, Mario Marazzi, and Zagato. Not all of these designers originally worked in the automobile industry. For example, Mario Marazzi was an Italian coachbuilder. On the other hand, designing automobiles was a specialty of many of those who collaborated with Lamborghini.
They Have Some Unusual Models
When people think of Lamborghini, it is usually the high-performance, luxury grand tourers that come to mind. However, this is not the only style of car that Lamborghini have manufactured over the years. In fact, they have created some quite unusual models. As the company had experience in producing tractors, it seemed a natural progression to manufacture a car with off-road capabilities. The first SUV they built was the Lamborghini LM002. It combined off-road capabilities with speed and luxury. At the time, only Landrover could really compete with what this car had to offer. Unfortunately, this model was not well received and those looking for an off-road car opted for companies who were established in this field. They did receive orders from the armed forces of Libya and Saudi Arabia, but they only sold a total of 301 vehicles.
Cars Are Named After Bulls
Each car manufacturer has its own way of finding the perfect name for every model of its cars. Sometimes, each model has a unique name that is unrelated to any other model. In other instances, car manufacturers have a recurring theme for choosing names. In the case of Lamborghini, the recurring theme is bulls. Ferruccio Lamborghini was a big fan of Spanish bullfighting. It was something he enjoyed watching in his spare time and was passionate about. He enjoyed the drama and entertainment of the bullfighting events and could see what a powerful animal the bull is. He likened this power to the power of his vehicles. For these reasons, he decided that he would use the names of famous Spanish fighting bulls for his cars. The first model to take the name of a bull was the Lamborghini Miura. This became a theme and many more models of cars were produced that took on the name of a famous bullfighting bull.
The Car at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show Had No Engine
The innovative engines of the Lamborghini are one aspect of its design that makes it so popular and desired. However, the first Lamborghini the company ever showed to the public didn’t even have an engine. The Lamborghini 350 GTV was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. While visitors at the show could see the engines of most of the other cars, they were surprised that they could not view the engine of the Lamborghini. The reason for this was that the car did not have an engine. The simple explanation for this was that although the bodywork was ready for the show, there were some final touches that Lamborghini needed to make to the engine before they were happy for it to be viewed by the public. While it may seem like a negative that they presented their creation in this way, the fact that Lamborghini did not have an engine in their car became a talking point that sparked interest in the company. It also showed that they were perfectionists and people who buy such high-end cars desire perfection in their purchases.
The Lamborghini Countach was Produced for 16 Years
One of the longest standing models manufactured by Lamborghini was the Lamborghini Countach. It was first produced in 1974 and the company were still producing this car in 1990. Although many Lamborghinis were named after bulls, this is one example of one of their models that had a name completely unrelated to bulls. The word ‘countach’ has been translated in many ways, but comes from the dialect of Piedmont and is used as an expression of surprise. It is said the car got his name when Nuccio Bertone first saw the sketches of the design of the car and exclaimed ‘Countach!’. The shape of the car pioneered and popularized the wedge-shape in sports cars. It was also innovative as part of the design was the cab forward concept. This pushed the passengers forwards, thus allowing more space for a rear-mounted engine. There were eight models of the Lamborghini Countach altogether; Countach LP500 prototype, Countach LP400, Countach LP400 S, Countach LP500 S, Countach LP Turbo S, Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole, 25th Anniversary Countach, and the Walter Wolf Countach. The latter was made originally for a Canadian businessman called Walter Wolf. He owned an LP400 but was dissatisfied with the engine. He asked Lamborghini to create the car with a higher-powered engine. Lamborghini obliged making one model of this car for Walter Wolf himself and two others which were sold to other buyers. Over the 16 years that Lamborghini produced the Countach, they manufactured 2,042 cars.
The Design is Inspired by Fighter Planes
Designers get their ideas from everywhere and the inspiration for some of the Lamborghini models is no different. In fact, the design of some Lamborghinis is inspired by fighter planes. The steel-cut body style has become the signature look of Lamborghini and it was originally designer Filippo Perini that was responsible for this design. Perini has admitted that he was inspired by fighter planes, especially the American F-22 and B-2 aircrafts. He had seen these while working on the Lamborghini Aventador. Strangely, it is believed that the Lamborghini Aventador was inspired by a green insect.
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