Lamborghini Supercars
 Lamborghini make the most distinctive cars in the world. There can be no doubt of that. When you see one of their cars you just know that it will bear a badge with their famous raging bull logo.
Ferruccio Lamborghini, a manufacturer of tractors, founded Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A in 1963. It is believed that Lamborghini, being upset by the quality of road cars that he bought from Ferrari in the 50's and early 60's, met with Enzo to complain. The legend says that Enzo kept Ferruccio waiting and when Ferrucio told him his cars were "rubbish", Enzo told him that he "may be able to drive a tractor but will never be able to handle a Ferrari Properly." Whetever exactly happeneded between the two men, no one will ever know, but the result was that Lamborghini decided he was going to build cars made just for the road.
The first thing Ferruccio needed was am engine - a V12. Ferrari had just restructured their engineering department and the engineers responsible for the 250 GTO were working for a new company. Lamborghini hired Giotto Bizzarrini and he, and his team, designed his new V12 engine, which he didn't actually like as it revved to high - just like a racing engine - which was exactly what Lamborghini didn't want.
The first Lamborghini road car was the 350GT, unveiled in Turin in 1963 (it is runmored that this car didn't have an engine due to the issues with the Bizzarrini design. It actually went into production in 1964 (with a de-tuned version of the engine) and Lamborghini sold 120 units over the next two years.
It was his next car, the Miura, that really put Lamborghini on the map and was the start of a trend that continues to this day - 2 seater, mid engined sports cars.
Another trend that Lamborghini set, that is still continued to this day by current owner Audi, is to name all (except the Countach) cars after a famous Bull, bullfighter or something important in the sport of bullfighting.
In 1974, just before the release of the Countach, Ferruccio sold all of his stock in Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A and retired. Since then, Lamborghini has been owned by several corporations, including Chrysler for 7 years, and is currently owned by Audi AG (owned by Volkswagen) - which means things on modern Lamborghinis actually work well!
The Lamborghini Supercars
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| Miura |
Ground breaking describes this car.
While there were mid-engined cars being built - they were all for racing only (Ford GT40 and Ferrari 250 LM). No one had managed to create a road car with this layout until Ferruccio Lamboghini and his team created the Miura (P400).
With it's transversely mounted V12, the Miura was the fastest production road car in the world and stayed in production between 1966 and 1974 when it was replaced by the Countach. 764 of these truely beautiful cars were made and they were initially offered to the public at a very expensive $20,000.
The film buffs amongst you will remember the opening scenes of "The Italian Job", which featured a Miura. It is rumoured that Lamborghini have plans to resurect the Miura - we can hope!
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| Countach |
Is there another model that says "I am a Lamborghini" more than a Countach? For me, the answer is definately no. This car just screams Lamborghini with its angular design and scissor design doors. The door design was actually a necessity because of the tubular spaceframe chassis which meant high, wide door sills.
The first Countach was show to the public in 1971 but it didn't enter production, as the successor to the Muira, until 1974 - and in the USA it wasn't available until 1982 (as the LP500). During its lifetime of 1974 until 1990, just over 2000 of these cars were built.
The final incarnation of the Countach - the 25th aniversary model - in 1988, featured a 5.2 liter V12 with 5-speed transmission, a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 183 Mph. It also featured the widest tires ever seen on a production car at that time - 345/35R15 Pirelli P Zero's - and a wallet busting price of $145,000.
Replaced by the Diablo in 1990, the Countach will always be remembered for its futuristic styling and, from a drivers perspective, design flaws - like having to sit on the sill with the door open to reverse.
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If you wish to read about driving in Italy please use the Driving In Italy page.
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