Interesting Facts About Lamborghini - Vol.449
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italian automobile company that makes luxury, high end sports cars. Its has it headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese, near the city of Bologna, Italy. Lamborghini was founded by an Italian engineer Feruccio in 1963
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. emerged as a result of competition between Feruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari (of Ferrari cars ) who at that time already had been known as a famous manufacturer of sports cars. Feruccio Lamborghini himself was an accomplished engineer; he was an owner and manager of a successful company, which produced agricultural machinery. Feruccio loved sports cars and owned a Ferrari 250 GT. A rumour has it, that two great constructors had a conflict after Lamborghini had turned personally to Enzo Ferrari because of the broken clutch on his Ferrari 250 GT. It is believed that quick-tempered Enzo recommended Feruccio to deal exclusively with tractors, and never even touch a sports car. Feruccio Lamborghini took it as a challenge resolving to use his assets, experience, and passion to found a company, capable of going toe-to-toe with Ferrari
This may come up as a surprise to some of you, but Lamborghini never participated in any major motorsports competitions. According to the will of Feruccio Lamborghini, his company stayed away from racing, because the famous Italian engineer always believed the motorsports to be a big waste of time and resources
One thing Lamborgini was always known for is its top-notch design. Some of the best professionals in the industry, including Franco Scaglione, Touring, Zagato, Mario Marazzi, Bertone, ItalDesign and Marcello Gandini, worked on its visual design.
People usually think of luxury and high-performance grand tourers, whenever someone mentions the name Lamborghini. Nevertheless, the Italian automaker has created few unusual models. Feruccio Lamborghini had an extensive experience in producing tractors, so it seemed natural for him to try his hand at designing an automobile with high off-road capabilities. Lamborghini LM002 was the first SUV, built by Italian vehicle manufacturer. Combining speed and luxuriousness with exceptional off-road capabilities, Lamborghini LM002 was in many respects far ahead of its time. When it comes to comfort and ability to cross the difficult terrain, only Land Rover could compete with LM002. Unfortunately, automobile market was not quite ready for the new luxury SUV. Therefore, despite the orders from armed forces of Saudi Arabia and Libya, Lamborghini sold only 301 vehicles.
The Italian automaker launched its first production model in 1963. With the top speed of 280 km / h, Lamborghini 350GTV was a leader among production cars of its time.
The Italian company uses very distinctive naming convention for its car models. Feruccio Lamborghini was quite a fan of Spanish bullfight. In 1963, he visited the cattle-bred farm Miura in Seville. It was owned by Don Eduardo Miura Fernandez, one of the most famous breeders of fighting bulls in Spain. This visit had a strong influence on the Italian industrialist. In fact, he was so impressed by the traditional art of bullfighting, that he made a decision to name all his new sports cars after famous fighting bulls. Traditionally in Spanish bullfight, bulls that manage to defeat a matador are given life, and their names are forever inscribed in the history of the sport. Ferruccio Lamborghini was convinced, that a name of a fighting bull will emphasize the untamed nature of sports cars created under Lamborghini marque. By the way, Ferruccio Lamborghini himself was also a bull in a sense, since his zodiac sign was Taurus. (He was born on April 28, 1916).
The first model to be introduced to the world under the "bullish" name was Lamborghini Miura. The sports car debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. The public warmly received it; however, spectators were somewhat confused, since they were not allowed to open the hood. This was not a coincidence: there was simply no engine under it! Since the engine was still being designed, the prototype was sent to the Geneva Motor Show with a ballast instead of an engine under the hood. Eventually, Miura proved to be a very good car.
Lamborghini Countach was produced by the Italian company for 16 years (from 1974 to 1990). Notably, this sports car is one of the a few Lamborghini models, with a name that has nothing to do with bulls and bullfighting. The word "countach" comes from the Piedmontese language, spoken in a region of Piedmont in North-West of Italy. It is an expression of excitement or astonishment and can be translated as "Heavens!" According to the legend, Nuccio Bertone himself made such an exclamation when he saw the first sketches of the future supercar.
The story of Lamborghini was not always a story of success. In 1987, the American automobile giant Chrysler, practically saved it from oblivion by acquiring it. The same year, the Italian vehicle manufacturer presented a peculiar concept car under the name of Portofino. It was a sedan with four doors of the guillotine type, powered by a 3.5-liter engine installed at the rear. Although it remained only a prototype, its image and design was subsequently embodied in many Chrysler cars.
In 1994, Lamborghini was acquired by an Indonesian investment group. It was a period of uncertainty for the Italian marque. The German automobile giant Volkswagen saved the famous vehicle manufacturer. Since 1998, Volkswagen has controlled Lamborghini through its subdivision Audi. Undoubtedly, this was a mutually beneficial union for both companies.
The design of modern Lamborghini is unusual even for supercars. The steel-cut body style, which became the signature of most Lamborghini models, makes it akin to fighter planes. The designer Filippo Perini admitted that he drew an inspiration from military aviation. He was particularly impressed by American B-2 and F-22 aircraft while working on Lamborghini Aventador.
It turned out that the powerful Lamborghini V12 engine is a perfect fit for speedboats as well as supercars. Such a technical symbiosis is not a common thing in automobile industry. The luxury boat Riva Aquarama became one of the leaders of the market thanks to high performance and versatility of the incredible Lamborghini V12 engine.
Interestingly, Lamborghini cars are used by the police of United Arab Emirates and Italy. It makes sense if you think about it; nothing can detract criminals and attract tourists like the world's fastest police car!
As we have already mentioned, Feruccio Lamborghini neglected motorsports and tried to stay away from it. Nevertheless, the Italian vehicle manufacturer is revising this strict policy, since today it is a handicap for an automaker that specializes in supercars to ignore motorsports in its entirety. Currently, the company has some notable presence in the world of car racing. The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo is an example of a successful collaboration between the two legendary brands. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and the Swiss watchmaker Blancpain teamed up to launch this prestigious international motor racing series. In 2009, the Swiss company even presented a special watch, dedicated to this mono-brand championship.
This surprises no one that Lamborghini brand has some of the most impressive achievements in the automobile world. The last one was 384 km / h speed record set by the Lamborghini Huracan during half a mile race.
Lamborghini has a very long and fruitful relationship with Italian wheel manufacturer PIRELLI. From the day one, PIRELLI tyres were used on all Lamborghini vehicles. The Italian automaker even created the special version of Lamborghini AVENTADOR, dedicated to PIRELLI.
Lamborghini AVENTADOR has a designation of LP 700-4 700 where "700" stands for 700 h/p engine and "4" for a four-wheel-drive.
Lamborghini is partly responsible for the emerging of the well-known automobile marque Pagani. The founder of the Pagani Automobili S.p.A, Horacio Pagani, had worked as an engineer at Lamborghini until he quit due to inability to employ his own ideas. In 1988, the famous Argentinian constructor, eager to put in use his designer talent and make his own product, created a new company Pagani Automobili S.p.A
.Nowadays, Lamborghini supercars are powered by either V8 or V12 engines. The ratio between those two engine types is approximately 3:1.
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