Origin
As owner of a successful tractor and heating unit manufacturing business in the wake of World War II, Ferruccio Lamborghini was able to cultivate an interest in sports cars. After owning a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a Jaguar E-Type, and a Maserati 3500GT, he bought his first Ferrari, a 250GT. He quickly became a Ferrari enthusiast, eventually coming to own three 250GTs. However, he frequently encountered problems with the cars, specifically the clutch mechanism. He brought his complaints directly to company owner Enzo Ferrari, who took great offense at the notion of a tractor manufacturer criticizing the design of his precious cars, and let Lamborghini know as much, quoted as having said "the problem is not with the car, but rather, the driver". Insulted by Ferrari's reaction, Lamborghini took it upon himself to repair his car's clutch; in the process, he discovered that the design shared components with the clutches in the tractors manufactured by his own company. Encouraged by his discovery, and his desire to spite Ferrari, Lamborghini became inspired to create a grand tourer that would rival Ferrari's designs. He called upon the talents of automobile engineers Giotto Bizzarrini and Gian Paolo Dallara, designer Franco Scaglione, and an experienced driver from New Zealand, Bob Wallace. Together, they developed a prototype automobile, the 350GTV, which would evolve into the first production Lamborghini, the 350GT; Automobili Lamborghini was born.
Under Ferruccio Lamborghini
Ferruccio Lamborghini's fledgling automaker quickly achieved success with the 350GT, which the company soon followed up with the 400GT in 1966, along with Lamborghini's first truly iconic car, the flagship Miura, which set a precedent for mid-engined two-seater high performance sports cars.[2] The Miura was joined two years later by a four-seat grand tourer, the Espada, and a replacement for the 400GT, the Islero. After only two years in production, the Islero was itself replaced by the Jarama, which was designed to take into account new U.S. safety and emissions legislation. 1970 also saw the introduction of the Urraco, a 2+2 that slotted just beneath the Miura in Lamborghini's lineup.
1972 saw the first major setback for Ferruccio Lamborghini, as a massive tractor order from a South American buyer fell through. Lamborghini had invested heavily in his factories to accommodate the expected increase in demand; the ensuing debt forced him to sell part of his share in the tractor factory to the Fiat group. Eventually, the entire business was acquired by Italian tractor manufacturer Same Deutz-Fahr, which continues to make Lamborghini tractors today. That same year, Lamborghini partnered with investor Georges-Henri Rossetti in his still profitable sports car business; he later sold his remaining share in Automobili Lamborghini to Swissman René Leimer, and left the automotive industry, retiring to a gentleman farmer's life on a vineyard.
Bankruptcy, Mimran, and Chrysler
The 1973 oil crisis plagued the sales of high performance cars from manufacturers around the world; the rising price of oil caused governments to mandate new fuel economy laws and consumers to seek smaller, more practical modes of transportation. As an automaker which produced V8 and V12-powered luxury sports cars with typically abysmal fuel efficiency, the effect on Lamborghini's business was devastating. In 1978, the company declared bankruptcy; an Italian court was appointed to find a buyer, and in 1984 the Swiss-based Mimran brothers took over the company, after having managed it for four years while it was in receivership. The company remained solvent under the Mimrans' control, releasing the famous scissor door-equipped Countach in 1974, evolutions of the Urraco, the Silhouette and the Jalpa, and the rare LM002 sport utility vehicle in 1986.
In a surprising move, the company was bought by the Chrysler Corporation in 1987, with the acquisition being driven by Lee Iacocca, Chrysler's chairman at the time. At the time, Lamborghini was working on a successor, the Diablo. The Diablo's original design had been penned by famed Italian designer Marcello Gandini, who had also developed the exterior appearances of the Miura and the Countach while working for the Italian coachbuilder Bertone. However, Chrysler executives, unimpressed with Gandini's work, commissioned the American car-maker's own design team to execute a third extensive redesign of the car's body, smoothing out the trademark sharp edges and corner's of Gandini's original design; the Italian was left famously unimpressed with the finished product.[3][4] On the positive side, Chrysler's experience improved areas which had previously been left neglected, including noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) engineering, manufacturing techniques, practicality, and ergonomics.[5] The Diablo was released to the public on January 21, 1990, at an event at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.
Post-Chrysler: Megatech and Audi
In January 1994, poor economic circumstances and internal political climate[citation needed] forced Chrysler to sell Lamborghini to Megatech, an Indonesian investment group headed by Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of then-Indonesian President Suharto. A new management team, headed by ex-Lotus Group chief executive Mike Kimberley and ex-McLaren Cars head of sales Nigel Gordon-Stewart. Kimberley was well known to senior Chrysler management from his previous roles at Lotus and General Motors.
Under new ownership and management, Lamborghini's worldwide presence underwent sweeping changes, with its international dealer network and marketing strategies undergoing a complete revision. Sales tripled from just 101 cars in 1993 to 301 in 1994, and grew again to 414 in 1995.[citation needed] Cars sold well thanks to aggressive, proactive marketing programs, which reinforced the exclusive image and premium value that Lamborghini cars came to embody.
Lamborghini would release no all-new cars during the difficult decade of the 90s. In 1995, an upgrade to the Diablo, the Diablo SV (Sport Veloce) was launched. Inspired by the Miura SV, the newest Diablo featured a more powerful V12 engine, and became the best-selling version of Lamborghini's flagship car. However, after only one year of Indonesian ownership, Mike Kimberley's business plan found itself without funding, as changing economic conditions led Megatech, which would later become notorious for allegedly running American supercar maker Vector Motors into the ground, to sell its shares in the Italian company. After only three years under the combined ownership of companies V'Power and Mycom Sedtco, Lamborghini was purchased by German automaker Audi AG, who had gained interest in the Italian company after being approached as possible component suppliers for future Lamborghini models. After a series of complex transactions, Audi became the sole owner of the troubled Italian company.
In much the same way that American ownership had influenced the design of the Diablo, Lamborghini's new German parent played a large role in the creation of the Diablo's replacement. The first new Lamborghini in more than a decade, the Murciélago was also named for a famed fighting bull, and was styled by Belgian Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini's new head of design.
Under German ownership, Lamborghini found stability that it had not seen in many years. The automaker's cars, which despite being exotic and endearing were notoriously unreliable, benefited from renowned German engineering knowledge and have resulted in the production of cars that preserve Italian eccentricity while displaying the hallmarks of German efficiency. In 2003, Lamborghini followed up the Murciélago with the smaller, V10-equipped Gallardo, intended to be a more accessible and more livable than the Murciélago. The latest all-new model to be released was the Reventón, an extremely limited-edition supercar that carries the distinction of being the most powerful and expensive Lamborghini ever sold. In 2007, Wolfgang Egger was appointed as the new head of design of Audi and Lamborghini, replacing Walter de'Silva, who was responsible for the design of only one Lamborghini, the Miura Concept of 2006. The newest Lamborghini car is the 2009 Murciélago LP 670-4 SV, a highly refined model that marks the end of the Murciélago's eight-year production run; a replacement for Lamborghini's halo car is expected in 2010.[citation needed]
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