Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
What if Ferrari's most famous rival… was born from a fight over a clutch? Lamborghini's story starts in the countryside, with tractors, and ends with some of the fastest cars in the world.
Tractors from war leftovers
Italy, after World War II. Ferruccio Lamborghini, a very talented mechanic, turned leftover military vehicles into tractors. At first he built little more than one tractor a month.
The country needed machinery to rebuild its farms, and the business grew so much that Ferruccio became one of Italy's biggest tractor makers. He got rich… and bought several sports cars, including several Ferraris.
The clutch
But one of his Ferraris had clutch problems. The story goes that his mechanics opened it up… and discovered the part was almost the same as the one in his tractors, though it cost much more.
Ferruccio went to complain to Enzo Ferrari. And, according to legend, Enzo replied that he'd better stick to his tractors, and leave sports cars to him.
This part is an oft-repeated legend: there's no recording of that conversation, only later accounts.
The answer
Ferruccio didn't keep quiet. In 1963 he founded his own sports car brand, Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini, in the town of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna.
That same year he presented his first prototype, the 350 GTV, at the Turin Motor Show. Its production version, the 350 GT, became the first Lamborghini sold to the public.
And he chose a bull as its emblem, for his zodiac sign: Taurus.
The bulls that made history
The big hit came with the Miura, whose production began at the end of 1966. It was low, incredibly fast and had its engine behind the driver, something very rare at the time in a road car. Many consider it the first modern "supercar".
Its name also came from the world of bulls: Eduardo Miura was a famous breeder of fighting bulls and a friend of Ferruccio's. Since then, many Lamborghinis have been named after famous bulls or bull breeds.
The Miura is named after Eduardo Miura, a famous breeder of fighting bulls.
From tractors to Audi
Over the years, the brand changed hands several times. Ferruccio ended up selling his share of the car company, and in July 1998 Lamborghini was bought by Audi, within the Volkswagen group, alongside other luxury brands such as Bentley and Bugatti.
Curiously, Lamborghini tractors still exist, although today they belong to another company.
From tractors to supercars… because of a clutch.
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Sources (in Spanish)
- Historia de la empresa: Wikipedia, Lamborghini.
- Biografía del fundador y la anécdota con Enzo Ferrari: Wikipedia, Ferruccio Lamborghini.
- Fundación en 1963, el 350 GT, el Miura y la compra de 1998: Grupo Volkswagen, «The history of Lamborghini» y Lamborghini, historia oficial.
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