Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly known as Lamborghini, is a manufacturer of high performance sports cars based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. The company was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) as a spin-off from his very successful tractor factory, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A..
Ferruccio Lamborghini was an enthusiastic owner of sports cars, including a Ferrari. There are several versions of why Lamborghini started his company, all of them involving a conflict between himself and Enzo Ferrari. The most likely version, one that has been corroborated several times, is that Ferruccio Lamborghini met Enzo Ferrari at a party, and, naturally, the talk drifted to sports cars. Lamborghini pointed out a few things in Ferrari's designs which he did not agree with. Ferrari, a notorious hothead, got apoplectic. "If you don't like the way I build my cars, why don't you go build one in that tractor factory of yours."
Featuring bodies designed by Franco Scaglione, Touring of Milan, Zagato, Mario Marazzi, Bertone, ItalDesign, Marcello Gandini and Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini's cars are not only amongst the most expensive, and also most powerful, road-going vehicles made; but amongst the most stunning and impressive in appearance as well. As Ferruccio himself was a bullfighting aficionado (not to mention a Taurus), almost all models have a name somehow related to bullfighting.
Models
Lamborghini's products include the 350GTV (1963), 350GT (1964), 400GT 2+2 (1966), Miura (1966), Espada (1968), Jarama (1970), Countach (1974), Silhouette (1976), Jalpa (1981), Diablo (1990) and the Murciélago (2001) as well as the Lamborghini LM002 (1986) off-road vehicle of which Road and Track magazine said, "With the 5.2 litre V-12, the LM002 can pass anything on the road—except a gas station".
The current (2005) range consists of the Murciélago, the Murciélago Roadster and the smaller, cheaper Gallardo. All are very fast, mid-engined 2-seaters with four-wheel-drive as standard. The styling is largely the work of Belgian designer Luc Donckerwolke.
Model List
| Vehicle | Year | Engine | Displacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 350GT | 1964-1968 | Lamborghini V12 | 3464 cc |
| 400GT | 1964-1968 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc |
| Miura | 1966-1973 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc |
| Espada | 1968-1978 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc |
| Islero | 1968-1970 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc |
| Jarama | 1970-1978 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc |
| Urraco | 1970-1979 | Lamborghini V8 | 2463 cc/2996 cc/1994 cc |
| Countach | 1974-1989 | Lamborghini V12 | 3929 cc/4754 cc/5167 cc |
| Silhouette | 1976-1977 | Lamborghini V8 | 2996 cc |
| Jalpa | 1982-1989 | Lamborghini V8 | 3485 cc |
| LM002 | 1986-1992 | Lamborghini V12 | 5167 cc |
| Diablo | 1990-2000 | Lamborghini V12 | 5707 cc |
| Murciélago | 2002-Present | Lamborghini V12 | 6192 cc |
| Gallardo | 2003-Present | Lamborghini V10 | 4961 cc |
Ownership
Lamborghini has had a number of owners, as shown in this simplified list:
- Ferruccio Lamborghini 1963–1972
- Georges-Henri Rossetti & René Leimer 1972–1977
- bankrupt 1977–1984
- Patrick Mimran (managed 1980–1984) 1984–1987
- Chrysler 1987–1994
- Megatech 1994–1998
- Volkswagen group (Audi) since 1998
Foreign operations
Automovil Lamborghini de Latin America was set up by a Jorge Antonio Fernandez Garcia in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1994, It is officially licensed to produce two handbuilt variants of the Diablo called the Eros and the Coatl. They were first produced in 2001 and are available only in Latin America since 2003.
See also: List of Italian companies
External links
- Lamborghini official web site
- Lambo Cars fan site
- Lamborghini by KLD Concept (Photos , vidéo , etc ..)
- The International Lamborghini Registry
- Lamborghini Owners and Enthusiasts forum
- TODOLAMBORGHINI fan site
- LAMBORGHINI weblog
- Timpelen.com - a website dedicated to Automobili Lamborghini
- Lamborghini of Latin America based in Argentina