Lamborghini: Taking Design To The Next Level

The stories of most exotic sports car companies cannot be separated from the men themselves. The individual car maker's story, character, time period in history and so many other factors have always determined how they approached engineering, design, competition, and more.

Ferruccio Lamborghini is a perfect example of this. The famous vehicle maker was born to grape farmers in the Province of Ferrara in Northern Italy in 1916. Eventually, a stint in the Italian Army servicing vehicles gave him mechanical skills that he coupled with an entrepreneurial drive to create a thriving tractor business with post WWII vehicle parts. Later, his fascination with bullfighting would lead him to name most of his vehicles, such as the Miura, after actual bulls or breeds of bulls that had either been vanquished by or triumphed over matadors. Lamborghini's practical side would keep him from going all out into the motorsports side of car building. However, the key moment of Lamborghini's decision to build cars came after an offhand comment from Enzo Ferrari. According to Lamborghini, Ferrari told him that he probably couldn't drive a Ferrari well anyway, only a tractor. Instead of rising to that challenge directly, Ferruccio Lamborghini said that he simply thought, “OK, I'll just build the cars I want myself.”

This determination, though, was contrasted by a somewhat philosophical attitude toward work. “I am a man who likes to work hard in the morning and enjoy the afternoon,” he once said. He claimed not to want to end up like his colleagues with “heart problems.” So this enigma of a man, both driven but with a penchant for leisure, created some of the most memorable and formidable sports cars ever made. And if he had an easygoing outward demeanor, he was also known to jump in, roll up his sleeves and work right alongside his men on the factory floor at the slightest sign of difficulty.

Initially, Lamborghini's primary goal was to build a car that created a smoother, more touring-like ride than the Ferrari. He stated that the Ferrari ride was too rough for a street car and that he wanted to improve on that. So in May 1963, Lamborghini founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini in Sant'Agata Bolognese. Since the targeted Turin Auto Show was only months away, he hired Giotto Bizzarrini, who had designed several engines for Ferrari and several other engineers. The result was the 350 GTV, a two-door, two-seater with a V12, 60-degree, cast-aluminum block, dual-overhead camshafts and a triple timing chain drive. It had a 360 bhp engine but not until the engine had reached 9800 rpm, which did not suit Lamborghini's dream of making a more peaceful riding sports car. Nonetheless, the car debuted Oct. 26, 1963 sans engine and with hood securely locked. The press liked the prototype anyway but it was never a huge commercial success.

Not until the 400 GT was a reasonable sales level reached. Then in 1965-1966, Lamborghini's hiring of designers Gian Paolo Dalara and Paolo Stanzini started to pay off. Ironically, it was these two men's determination to fight upstream against Lamborghini's tendency not to favor street versions of racing cars that won the day. The project they collaborated on used the 400 GT with its 12-cyl. engine, but had the engine mounted transversely behind the cockpit. Then, with Lamborghini's new partnership with Nuccio Bertone, whom Lamborghini met at the 1965 Turin Auto Show, a new body style was created with designer Marcello Gandini interpreting Bertone's ideas.

The result was the Miura. It is the name of the breed of fighting bulls considered not only the strongest and most powerful, but the most intelligent, as well. At the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, the Miura was extremely well received. With his entrepreneurial and showmanship attributes, instead of racing in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix shortly afterwards, he simply parked his Miura in front of the Hotel de Paris and wrote orders for it.

The years 1967-1972 were perhaps several of the most successful for Lamborghini. The Miura and the 400 GT 2+2 were acclaimed and the world was about to meet Marzal, the latest collaboration of Bertone and Gandini. It was a four-seater with a rear-engine configuration mounted transversely. But it was the gull-wing doors that would excite car lovers everywhere. Though it was not destined to be produced, it was shown often and became a formidable publicity tool for Lamborghini. It paved the way for the actual use of the gull-wing design in many later Lamborghini vehicles. Also, the front engine, four-seat Espada was a commercial hit, selling 228 units in 1970.

Up until the end of 1974, it was business as usual with the Countach (the model with the single, large, front windshield wiper), the Espada Series III, the Jarama S and the Urraco S all being produced. Unfortunately, the gasoline crisis of the early '70s put a strong damper on sports car sales and especially exotic, high-price sports car sales worldwide. The entire situation only highlighted how much more difficult and risky the business of building high-end exotic sports cars was and is. Though there are some people in the world who will buy them no matter what, there are many who though very rich, may have to draw the line at something with a price tag in the quarter- to a half-million dollar range. Not to mention the fact that there was a great deal of social pressure then-and still now-not to waste the world's petroleum resources unnecessarily.

These circumstances hit the Lamborghini Company particularly hard and by 1976, the company sought collaborative help from BMW Motorsports. Both this effort and an attempt to make an off-road vehicle called the Cheetah proved unworkable.

By 1978, only the Countach “S” version was still in production. Though it kept the company alive, Lamborghini reported that only 237 units were sold between 1978 and 1982. There was a last attempt by Bertone in designing the completely open Athon-P 300, but the design never saw fulfillment. By 1980, the company was flirting with bankruptcy. By late in the next year, the company was put up for liquidation and a surprising number of suitors made it to the front door.

The court awarded the company to Jean-Claude and Patrick Mimran, who along with Emil Novaro, began to rebuild the company as The Nuova Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini SpA. Under the guidance of engineer Giulio Alfieri, restyling work began on the Miura, the Countach S with large rear wing and the Cheetah, all with mixed results. However, when Alfieri's team redesigned the Countach, which had remained the same since about 1973, the results were far better. He increased the displacement to achieve 375 hp among other improvements, and dubbed the car the Countach 5000. Eventually, the Countach became the Quatrovalvole, with 475 hp.

In 1987, as all car aficionados know, Lamborghini was taken over by the Chrysler Corp. Chrysler has always been known for having its share of hands-on “car guys” on the staff and their initial work seemed to reflect this reputation. Lamborghini provided engines to Lotus teams that began to finish way up in the pack. In 1990, Lamborghini engines fared extremely well at the British Grand Prix, The Hungarian Grand Prix, and most notably at the Grand Prix in Japan, where driver Suzuki took third place gunning a Lamborghini powerplant.

A 25th Anniversary Countach was produced, sadly the last ever, but it sold no less than 657 units to adoring fans of the car. The new Countach would be the Diablo, named for one of the fiercest and formidable fighting bulls of all time. Suitably, it claimed 492 hp and a look designed to sober even the coolest bullfighter. Eventually, a four-wheel drive version would be made available, signaling a move toward that technology in later Lamborghinis.

Despite Chrysler's sudden move to sell the company in 1994, the “bullish” spirit of Lamborghini would not die. A number of subsequent versions of the Diablo were created, along with the VT Roadster, which was a big hit in the U.S. market.

In July 1998, Audi took over Lamborghini and has had considerable success nurturing the successes of this now legendary car company. The Murciélago (also named for a fighting bull), had its 40th Anniversary in 2003 and this 580 hp super sports car was being made to order. However, for all the Murciélago's power, Audi is credited with adding refinement to many aspects of the vehicle. In addition, designer Luc Donckerwolke created the Murciélago Roadster, not only eliminating the top of the coupe, but creating his own unique design.

Coming full circle, the Murciélago R-GT began to be offered for racing, inadvertently honoring the wishes of Lamborghini's first design team. It was shown for the first time at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2003.

A special edition of the Gallardo was offered in limited quantity in 2005 and the Gallardo Spyder. Finally, the Lamborghini Miura Concept objectified the tenacity of the fighting bull image Ferruccio Lamborghini set in motion some four score years earlier.

Despite the fact that Ferruccio Lamborghini had to step away from his business and have it taken over by others, no one would ever dream of giving up the Lamborghini name. There is a force, a genius, an individuality to his company's products unmatched in all the world. While Lamborghini always favored vehicle names taken from individual and breeds of fighting bulls, Ferruccio Lamborghini was the true bull - forging through good times and bad to create the best and most exotic sports car he possibly could. In the main, he chose not to compete head-on with anyone but himself, and that is probably the single greatest reason his creations were so unique. The name Lamborghini will forever be associated with great exotic sports cars and will always reflect the man who so vigorously brought them from conception to reality.

Back to Lamborghini