Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., or more commonly known as Lamborghini, is one of the premiere supercar makers in the world. It was started by the visionary Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963 and grew to become one of the most respected and widely known brands of sports cars. The raging bull in the emblem of Lamborghini represents the power and ferocity of the sports cars they make.
What Started the Lamborghini Dream
Ferruccio Lamborghini was a successful mechanic and worked on tractors and farm equipment. He was so successful in his endeavours that he had enough cash to buy himself a Ferrari 250GT along with several other sports cars. He was unhappy with his Ferrari that he made a list of complaints about the vehicle.
He thought that the Ferrari was too noisy and too rough for a proper road car. He also complained that the clutch was inferior and often needed repairs. Ferruccio Lamborghini had enough and took his laundry list of complaints to Enzo Ferrari himself. Ferrari did not appreciate the thought of a tractor maker telling him what was wrong with his creation and ignored him.
Ferruccio Lamborghini then took a Ferrari 250 GT and modified it to outperform the stock Ferrari cars. This gave Lamborghini the confidence that he could build better cars than Ferrari and all the other car manufacturers of the time.
Ferruccio Lamborghini commissioned a former Ferrari engineer to build the engine for his first car.
He did not like the race car like qualities of the car and the first prototype called the 350 GTV debuted without an engine. He designed and built the car in just four months.
After receiving good reviews from the car press, Lamborghini went on to modify the 350 GTV into the first production car called the Lamborghini 350 GT. The new 350 GT had a 3.5 Liter V12 engine that produced 275bhp and had a top speed of 158 mph. It had a five-speed manual gearbox and rear wheel drive. The 350 GT could accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 6.2 seconds. The car had a wheelbase of 100 inches and weighed in at 1,450kgs.
The 350 GT also featured fully independent front and rear wishbone suspension which provided excellent handling. The chassis was made with square-section tubing that provided strength and helped the car become quieter in comparison to the Ferrari 250GT. The body was made from high-strength aluminum. The cost of a Lamborghini 350 GT then was $15,000 USD or $120,578 in today’s money.
There were 120 Lamborghini 350 GT made before the successor the 400 GT was introduced which had a larger engine.
From then on, the Lamborghini brand became a household name and a favourite of car enthusiasts. Ferruccio Lamborghini went on to design the Lamborghini Miura which had the revolutionary mid-engine rear-wheel drive design which is a hallmark of its supercars today.
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