Lamborghini

The essentials

Date founded	1963
Derivation of name	name of founder
Name meaning	-
Where founded	Sant'Agata Bolognese (near Modena)
Name of founder(s)	Ferruccio Lamborghini
First car name	350GTV
First car date	1963
First car top speed/power	274kmh / 360bhp
Latest car name	Gallardo
Latest car date	2003
Latest car top speed/power	309kmh / 500bhp
Founder birth-death date	1916-1993
Founder background	farming family;tractor business
Current ownership	Audi(1998)
Current base	Sant' Agata Bolognese
Current top person	Stephan Winkelmann
3 of the best	Miura (1965); Countach(1971); Diablo(1990)

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Lamborghini

Brief History of Marque

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly known as Lamborghini, is 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 own company, all of them involving a conflict between himself and Enzo Ferrari. The most common version, as told by Lamborghini's son, is that Ferruccio Lamborghini went to meet Enzo Ferrari at the Ferrari factory to complain about the quality of the clutch in Lamborghini's Ferrari 250 GT.

Enzo Ferrari sent him away telling him to go and drive tractors because he was not able to drive cars. Lamborghini went back to his factory, had his Ferrari's clutch dismantled and realised that the clutch manufacturer was the same one that supplied the clutches for his tractors. In his spare parts warehouse he found a spare part which he thought suitable, he installed it and solved the problem.

Featuring bodies designed by Franco Scaglione, Touring of Milan, Zagato, Mario Marazzi, Bertone, ItalDesign, Marcello Gandini and Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghinis are not only amongst the most expensive and powerful road-going vehicles made, but are also considered by many to be some of the most stunning and impressive in appearance.

Contrary to a frequent misunderstanding, Ferruccio himself never was a bullfighting supporter but loved bulls and was a Taurus, which explains why most models have a name somehow related to bulls.