History
A maker of luxury sports cars, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini in Sant-Agata Bolognese, Italy. Ferruccio Lamborghini had always had an interest in sports cars and automobile racing; though, his first company manufactured agricultural equipment.
Lamborghini Trattori was one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural equipment in Italy. This wealth allowed Lamborghini to explore his interest in luxury vehicles. He owned luxury cars from the majority of the top brands, including Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari.
Lamborghini wanted to develop his own sports cars after being disappointed with a Ferrari 250GT that he had purchased in 1958. This is when Lamborghini began actively pursuing the creation of an automobile company. At first, Lamborghini hired an engineering firm to design a V12 engine for use in his new vehicle. This engineering firm was led by Giotto Bizzarrini. By 1963, Lamborghini had finished production of the prototype for the Lamborghini 350GTV, with the help of designers that had previously worked for Ferrari and Maserati. When commercial production began in 1964, the Lamborghini 350GTV would go through some changes and be released as the Lamborghini 350GT. Over the next two years, Lamborghini produced and sold 120 vehicles.
Major Events
In 1965, Lamborghini would get an improvement to their V12 engine designed by Bizzarrini. Gian Paolo Dallara made modifications to the engine, increasing its power to 320 horsepower. Vehicles released with this larger engine were dubbed the 400GT, which was basically a 350GT with the newly designed engine.
At a time when the majority of Italian sports car makers had significant investments in racing and motorsports, Lamborghini had always stated that he did not want to be involved in motorsports. He saw racing as a large expense that ate up too much of a company’s resources. This would contrast with the views of many of his chief designers, many of whom had worked for Italian automobile companies that were heavily involved in racing. Without Lamborghini’s knowledge, a group of designers began work on the prototype that would eventually become the Lamborghini P400. Intended to be a road vehicle that could be capable of serious competition in racing, Lamborghini discovered the design and allowed the release of the vehicle as a marketing tool.
Going Forward
Lamborghini would see diminishing sales over the years, despite the critical acceptance of their automobiles. Lamborghini filed for bankruptcy in 1978 and was purchased by Swiss investors, the Mimran brothers, in 1980. The brothers would end up making a profit, selling the company to Chrysler in 1987 for six times their purchase price.
By the early 1990s, Chrysler had decided to begin seeking a company willing to purchase Lamborghini. In 1994, Lamborghini was acquired by a holding company called MegaTech that would eventually sell the company to Volkswagen. In 1998, the head of Volkswagen purchased not only Lamborghini, but Bentley and Bugatti as well. After the purchase by Volkswagen, Lamborghini would become a subdivision of Volkswagen subsidiary Audi. The Audi owned Lamborghini company produced their first new vehicle in more than a decade with the release of the Lamborghini Murcielago.
Today, Lamborghini has already pushed the envelope of future models and has unveiled a concept SUV to be released in 2017. Known as the Urus, the model features a V8 engine and a sharply built design ready to tear up the pavement or off-road terrain. The Aventador J is also being reworked from concept to production and buyers should keep their eyes peeled for these beauties in the days to come. Keeping a commitment to speed and luxury, the Lamborghini brand will likely hold onto the tradition of quality, luxury super cars for years to come.
