From fights with Ferrari to forging some of the finest supercars in history, Lamborghini is now firmly a household name – a remarkable feat for a company that started life as a tractor maker.
Whether it’s the magnificent Miura or the roar of a Countach, over the last seven decades Automobili Lamborghini has blessed the world with some truly iconic cars. It’s these legendary vehicles and the history of Lamborghini that we’ll be exploring in this latest instalment of our On Your Marques! series.
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Lamborghini history timeline
While it is not the oldest supercar marque, Lamborghini has a fascinating history spanning more than 65 years. Here are the highlights.
1948: The first Lamborghini
Italian mechanic Ferruccio Lamborghini establishes Lamborghini Trattori, using surplus war materials to build tractors. The first ever Lamborghini is the L 33 tractor, released in 1951.
1963: Automobili Lamborghini is born
By now a wealthy businessman, Lamborghini develops his own car marque, Automobili Lamborghini – his attempt to compete with Ferrari. The following year, the famous 350 GT is released.
1966: The Miura years
As production of the 350 GT comes to an end, the legendary Miura is released in 1966 and becomes Lamborghini’s flagship model for nearly ten years.
1972: Lamborghini leaves
After a prosperous first decade in business, Ferruccio Lamborghini sells his company to Georges-Henri Rossetti and René Leimer, and retires to his vineyard.
1980: Mimran takeover
Following a turbulent period, culminating in bankruptcy in 1978, Lamborghini is placed in the receivership of the Mimran brothers, who buy the company in 1984 and invest in its expansion.
1987: Chrysler years
Lamborghini is sold to the Chrysler Corporation, which replaces the flagship Countach with the Diablo. Over the next decade, ownership of the marque exchanges hands multiple times.
1993: Death of a legend
Ferruccio Lamborghini passes away in February 1993 at the age of 76.
1998: Audi acquisition
Lamborghini finally finds a permanent home under the ownership of Audi, which begins a more refined era for the marque – embodied by the arrival of the stunning Murciélago in 2001.
2003: Launch of the Gallardo
Produced from 2003-2013, the Gallardo is largely credited for being the car that “saved Lamborghini” due to its performance, handling, looks and reasonable pricing. The car was known as the “baby Lambo”, with a 5-litre V10 engine producing nearly 500bhp, and was an instant hit with buyers.
2011: Aventador arrives
Solidifying its place as a premium supercar marque, Lamborghini releases its new flagship model, the Aventador, at the 2011 Geneva motor show. Production of the Aventador spans more than a decade through late 2022.
2023: Electric future
Lamborghini’s mid-engine plug-in hybrid, the Revuelto, is released and another step is taken towards the marque’s aim of a fully hybrid offering by the end of 2024.
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What is the story behind Lamborghini and Ferrari?
By 1958, Ferruccio Lamborghini had made a small fortune selling tractors and could now afford to buy his own Ferrari 250 GT. However, on discovering problems with the car – namely that the Ferrari clutch was the same cheap clutch installed on his own tractors – he approached Enzo Ferrari.
The story goes that Lamborghini met with Ferrari in Maranello to offer his constructive criticism. Naturally, the mulish Enzo Ferrari had a tough time accepting this and rejected Lamborghini’s advice, quipping, ‘You are a tractor driver, a farmer. You shouldn’t complain about driving my cars because they’re the best cars in the world.’
Furious with the interaction, Lamborghini drove home and vowed to produce his own sports cars, which would be better than Ferrari in every way. And so, in 1963, Automobili Lamborghini was born. You can read more about Italy’s greatest rivalry here.
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The Lamborghini brand: signature colours and design cues
Whether it’s blazing round a track or weaving through the Italian alps, a Lamborghini is always easy to spot. The marque perfectly combines aggression with elegance, with low-profile silhouettes and sharp angles being typical design features.
From the headlights to the wheel trims, hexagonal and Y shapes are other stylistic elements that are prominent in every Lamborghini – as are the striking scissor doors, which have been a ‘Lambo’ design cue since the groundbreaking Countach.
As for colour, Ferrari has its Rosso Barchetta, while Lamborghini’s traditional brand colour is Verde Mantis – a vibrant green inspired by the namesake preying insect. Given the traditionally tense relationship between the two Italian marques, this choice may be no coincidence; on the colour wheel (used in visual design), green is housed opposite red.
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A few quick facts about Lamborghini
Here are three snappy Lamborghini facts to wheel out the next time you’re chatting about Italian supercars:
#1. Love of the bull
The Lamborghini logo famously features a raging bull, which is actually a reference to Taurus – Ferruccio Lamborghini’s beloved zodiac sign. This motif has influenced the naming of many Lamborghinis such as the Urraco, Jalpa and Gallardo, which are all named after breeds of bull.
Meanwhile, the Jarama takes its name from a Spanish bullfighting region, the Aventador from a famous 1118-pound black bull, and the Miura was named after bull breeder, Don Eduardo Miura.
#2. Beast on the water
In 2017, Lamborghini released the one-off Aventador Super Veloce – a 52-ft speed boat built to match the 2016 Aventador supercar. Notable features include the same Verde Singh paintjob, Aventador steering wheel, and a $25,000 stereo system.
Costing a cool £1.75 million, the ‘Aventaboat’ boasts 1,350bhp, can reach speeds in excess of 180 mph (290 km/h) on the water, and comes as a pair with a Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster.
#3. Speedy dispatch
In 2004, two Lamborghini Gallardos were donated to Polizia di Stato – the Italian State Police – to commemorate the force’s 152nd anniversary. Unfortunately, both cars were destroyed in the line of duty. Ouch.
They have since been replaced with Lamborghini Huracáns, which feature inbuilt fridges that are used for transporting organs for transplant. They were reportedly used in 2020 to transport a kidney from Rome to Padua (300 miles) in just two hours!
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The cars: the best, loudest and craziest Lamborghini models
Selecting Lamborghini’s best cars from a portfolio packed with classics made this task anything but easy, but here are seven of our favourites.
350 GT
An absolute beauty and the car that started it all, the 350 GT launched at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show as Lamborghini’s first road car; a fantastic debut. The 350 GT featured a lightweight all-aluminium body, refined detailing and a 3.5-litre V12 engine. It could certainly move, reaching top speeds of up to 158 mph (254 km/h).
Miura
Just two years after the 350 GT, Lamborghini released the Miura. From the pencil of revolutionary designer Marcello Gandini, the gorgeous Miura remains one of the most flowing and timeless supercar designs, and had brawn to match its beauty. It quickly became an icon in the world of motoring and pop culture, featuring in the explosive opening sequence of The Italian Job (1969).
Countach
Another Gandini masterpiece, the imposing Countach was first shown to the world in 1971, before its release as the LP400 Countach in 1974. The engineering team at Lamborghini took lessons learned from the Miura to ensure the Countach was a high-performance vehicle with super stability, power and steering that would live up to the epic roar from the V12 engine.
Diablo
After the success of the Miura and Countach, expectations were high for what would come next. Nevertheless, Lamborghini outdid itself with the Diablo. With styling that blended sharp with sleek and a 5.7L V12 engine, it was the first Lamborghini to reach 200 mph (322 km/h). It was coveted for its looks, performance and plethora of special edition releases during its 11-year run; the Diablo was the definitive ‘90s supercar for many.
Reventón
Lamborghini’s foray into limited-run specials resulted in the Reventón, which the marque says was inspired by modern aeronautics. With a design influenced by stealthy fighter jets, this car could fly around a track; scorching from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 3.4 seconds, thanks to the V12 under the hood. Only 20 were sold to the public, while one example was reserved for the Lamborghini museum.
Aventador S
The first of two Lamborghinis in the Ultimate Driving Tours fleet, the divine Aventador S is a perennial favourite among our guests. With a top speed listed simply as ‘more than 350 km/hr’, this beast is brutally powerful, flamboyant and modern – and its bellowing V12 makes it the loudest Lamborghini. Settle into the driving seat and you’ll be mesmerised by the performance.
Huracán Performante
The second ‘bull’ in our fleet is the Huracán Performante and it’s simply one of the best Lamborghini cars we’ve ever driven. It’s an intoxicating combination of fast, loud, and responsive. With an ingenious 4WD system, the completely reworked Performante version delivers stunning and properly accessible performance. Talk about an emotional drive!
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Experience Lamborghini in Italy with Ultimate Driving Tours
You can experience the thrill of driving a Lamborghini on some of Italy’s finest driving roads on our ultra-luxe Italian supercar driving tour. As part of the tour, you’ll explore the Italian alps in a fleet of latest-release supercars, stay in exceptional boutique properties, and indulge in some of Italy’s finest gourmet restaurants.
To learn more about this or any of our exclusive European tours, speak to our friendly travel concierge team today.
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