The name Lamborghini resonates well among both car and non-car enthusiasts. It is a supercar brand that brings about prestige and luxury across the world but did you know that this Italian carmaker has one of the most interesting histories?
The brand was the brainchild of Ferruccio Lamborghini who started out in the tractor business known as Lamborghini Trattori. This vehicle was made using excess parts used to make weapons and equipment during the Second World War. After the war, Lamborghini who was a known mechanic with the Italian Air Force started his tractor business and before long, his business flourished and even started making home heaters and air-conditioning systems.
With that, Ferruccio became a rich man and he indulged in expensive hobbies where he bought a Ferrari 250 GT, a purchase he would then regret especially with the clutch system. That prompted him to come up with his ideas which he would then meet Enzo Ferrari to propose them.
This obviously did not go well with Enzo as he cynically remarked that the problem lies not with the car but with the driver, a direct insult against Ferruccio. Enzo then went another step further when he told Ferruccio to mind his own ‘tractor business’. This only drove him to be more inclined on breaking Ferrari’s persona.
Hiring a team who used to work for Ferrari
Ferruccio wasted no time and started to think of producing a high performance car and employed Giampaolo Dallara who was once in the Ferrari V2 design team. Ferruccio added the team with Giotto Bizzarini, Franco Scaglione and Gian Paolo Dallara who used to work for Ferrari.
The job was simple, make a powerful GT that can hit 241km/h and the first Lamborghini 350GT was born which was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in 1964 and never looked back ever since. The rest, like they say is history.
