Historia marki Lamborghini4 zdjęć

It’s hard to say whether this legendary series of sports cars would exist today if Enzo Ferrari had been a more accommodating person…

Before telling the story of Lamborghini, it’s necessary to briefly mention some facts from the life of its founder. During World War II, Ferruccio Lamborghini served in the Italian army. He was a natural mechanic, so he was always busy. Italy, which initially belonged to the Axis powers, later became Germany’s ally after Mussolini’s regime fell. Thus, Ferruccio fought on the side of the Allies, maintaining and repairing British military equipment mainly.

This experience gave him extensive knowledge of both Italian and foreign machinery. These skills proved invaluable later on. After the war, Lamborghini returned home determined to start his own business. Meanwhile, the British were selling surplus military vehicles in Italy since it was too troublesome to transport them back to Britain. The ambitious young Italian took advantage of this opportunity and founded a small tractor manufacturing company. In war-torn but gradually recovering Italy, such machinery was in high demand.The first model of tractor he developed was simple in design but reliable in operation, which ensured its success. This helped the young company thrive quickly. Decades later, Lamborghini had become very wealthy and could afford a luxury sports car—he chose Ferrari. However, the car disappointed him greatly, so one day he decided to go directly to Enzo Ferrari’s office to share his thoughts on how the cars could be improved. Instead, he faced rude behavior and insulting remarks about how a tractor manufacturer shouldn’t interfere in sports car production.

Enraged, Lamborghini resolved to create his own sports car model—one that would rival Ferrari both on the track and in the market. It was his way of taking revenge in Italian fashion. First, he thoroughly disassembled the Ferrari he bought to understand its workings. To his surprise, it was even simpler than he had imagined. In 1963, the Lamborghini 350 GT was unveiled. Of course, this car wasn’t created by Lamborghini alone—he brought together many talented engineers and designers to help with the project.The resulting model was a great success and was in high demand. To produce it, they purchased a factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, where the company’s headquarters are still located today. Lamborghini was born under the sign of Taurus, and later his cars were named after famous bulls used in corridas. Even the “Diablo” model isn’t named after any evil force.Consumers often affectionately refer to their Lamborghinis as “Lambo”. The true success of the company came with the launch of the Miura model in 1965. This outstanding supercar was extremely popular—sometimes over a hundred units were sold in a year, and Lamborghini’s factory operated at full capacity. However, Lamborghini didn’t abandon its tractor business entirely; these vehicles continued to bring him significant income and allowed him to pursue his creative ambitions. But in 1972, a major setback occurred when a large contract to supply tractors to Bolivia was cancelled due to a military coup there.This event dealt a severe blow to the company’s finances, forcing Lamborghini to sell part of its tractor production capacity to Fiat. Later, it completely withdrew from this business area. Today, tractors under the Lamborghini brand are still produced by the SAME DEUTZ-FAHR group.The oil crisis in the 1970s threatened the survival of cars in this class. However, the Lamborghini Countach managed to survive. In 1975, Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his share of the company to Swiss businessmen friends, Georges-Henri Rossetti and René Leimer. After retiring from business, he spent his later years living in his villa, growing grapes. Ferruccio Lamborghini passed away in 1993 at the age of 76.

In the 1970s, Lamborghini faced various production problems that led to its bankruptcy and subsequent sale. The new owners, Swiss food producers Jean-Claude and Patrick Mimram, took over the company. In 1987, Lamborghini unexpectedly bought the financially troubled American Chrysler corporation. This move was reportedly inspired by Lee Iacocca, the chairman of Chrysler, who wanted to own such a legendary brand as Lamborghini. In 1994, when Chrysler faced further financial difficulties, Lamborghini was sold to the Indian investment group Megatech, but this attempt at revitalization was unsuccessful. In 1998, it returned to Europe under the ownership of Audi AG.

Today, Lamborghini cars remain among the most popular in their class, with annual production volumes exceeding several thousand units. The legacy of the company’s founder continues to live on.