Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.,
[Notes 1] commonly referred to as
Lamborghini (
Italian: [lamborˈɡiːni] (
listen)), is an Italian
car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate
Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined
grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques such as
Ferrari.
The company's first models were released in the mid-1960s, and were
noted for their refinement, power and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide
acclaim in 1966 for the
Miura sports coupé, which established
mid-engine design
as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era. After a
decade of rapid growth, hard times befell the company in the mid-1970s,
as sales plunged in the wake of the
1973 world financial downturn and
oil crisis. After going through bankruptcy and three changes in ownership, Lamborghini came under the corporate umbrella of the
Chrysler Corporation
in 1987. The American company failed to return the automaker to
profitability and sold it to Indonesian interests in 1994. Lamborghini's
lack of success continued through the 1990s, until the company was sold
in 1998 to
Audi, a subsidiary of the
Volkswagen Group (a German automotive
concern).
Audi's ownership marked the beginning of a period of stability and
increased productivity for Lamborghini, with sales increasing nearly
tenfold over the course of the 2000s, peaking in record sales in 2007
and 2008. The
world financial crisis in the late 2000s negatively affected luxury car makers worldwide, and saw Lamborghini's sales drop back to pre-2006 levels.
Assembly of Lamborghini cars continues to take place at the
automaker's ancestral home in Sant'Agata Bolognese, where engine and
automobile production lines run side-by-side at the company's single
factory. The company produces only two models, the
V-10 powered Gallardo and the
V12-powered Aventador,
in a variety of body styles, trim levels, and limited-production
editions. Fewer than 3,000 cars roll off the production line each year.
History
Origin
A Lamborghini 22PS from 1951.
Automobili Lamborghini was founded by
Ferruccio Lamborghini, the child of
viticulturists from the
comune (township) of
Renazzo di Cento,
Province of Ferrara, in the
Emilia-Romagna region of
Northern Italy.
[1][4] After serving as a mechanic in the
Regia Aeronautica[5][6] during World War II, Lamborghini went into business building
tractors
out of leftover military hardware from the war effort. By the
mid-1950s, Lamborghini's tractor company, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A.,
[7] had become one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers in the country.
[8] He was also the owner of a successful
gas heater and
air conditioning manufacturer.
[5][8][9]
Lamborghini's wealth allowed him to cultivate a childhood interest in cars, owning a number of luxury automobiles including
Alfa Romeos,
Lancias,
Maseratis, and a
Mercedes Benz.
[9] He purchased his first
Ferrari, a
250GT,
in 1958, and went on to own several more. Lamborghini was fond of the
Ferraris, but considered them too noisy and rough to be proper
road cars, likening them to repurposed
track cars.
[9]
When Lamborghini discovered that his clutch on the Ferrari was broken,
and actually was the same clutch that he used on his tractors,
Lamborghini went to Ferrari and asked for a better replacement. Ferrari
responded, saying that he was just a little tractor maker, and could not
know anything about
sports cars.
[9][10][11]
Lamborghini decided to pursue an automobile manufacturing venture with
the goal of bringing to life his vision of a perfect grand tourer.
[8]
Early 1960s
Prior to founding his company, Lamborghini had commissioned the engineering firm
Società Autostar to design a V12 engine for use in his new cars. Lamborghini wanted the engine to have a similar
displacement
to Ferrari's 3-litre V12; however, he wanted the engine to be designed
purely for road use, in contrast to the modified racing engines used by
Ferrari in its road cars. Autostar was led by
Giotto Bizzarrini, a member of the "Gang of Five" of Ferrari engineers, who had been responsible for creating the famous
Ferrari 250 GTO, but left the company in 1961 after founder Enzo Ferrari announced his intention to reorganize the engineering staff.
[12]
The engine Bizzarrini designed for Lamborghini had a displacement of
3.5 litres, a 9.5:1 compression ratio, and a maximum output of 360 bhp
at 9800 rpm.
[13] Lamborghini was displeased with the engine's high revolutions and
dry-sump lubrication
system, both characteristic of the racing engines he specifically did
not wish to use; when Bizzarrini refused to change the engine's design
to make it more "well-mannered", Lamborghini refused to pay the
agreed-upon fee of 4.5 million
Italian lire (plus a bonus for every unit of
brake horsepower the engine could produce over the equivalent Ferrari engine).
[13][14] Lamborghini did not fully compensate the designer until ordered to do so by the
courts.
[14]
The first Lamborghini chassis design was created by Italian chassis engineer
Gian Paolo Dallara
of Ferrari and Maserati fame, together with a team that included Paolo
Stanzani (then a recent college graduate) and Bob Wallace (a New
Zealander who was known at Maserati for his keen sense of chassis
handling and excellent feedback and developmental skills).
[14][15] The body was styled by the then-relatively unknown designer
Franco Scaglione, who was selected by Ferruccio Lamborghini after passing over highly regarded names including
Vignale,
Ghia,
Bertone, and
Pininfarina.
[citation needed]
Lamborghini was unimpressed with the quality of the 350GTV, and ordered a complete redesign for the firm's first production car.
The
Lamborghini 350GTV was designed and built in only four months, in time for an October unveiling at the 1963 Turin Motor Show.
[13]
Due to the ongoing disagreement with engine designer Giotto Bizzarrini,
a working powerplant was not available for the prototype car in time
for the show. The car went on display in Turin without an engine under
its hood; according to lore, Ferruccio Lamborghini had the engine bay
filled with bricks so that the car would sit at an appropriate height
above the ground, and made sure that the
bonnet stayed closed to hide the missing engine.
[14][16] The motoring press gave the 350GTV a warm response.
[13]
The Automobili Lamborghini
Società per Azioni was officially
incorporated on 30 October 1963.
[5] Ferruccio Lamborghini purchased a 46,000 square metres (500,000 sq ft) property at Via Modena, 12, in the township of
Sant'Agata Bolognese,
less than 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Cento; deep in the cradle of
Italy's automobile industry, the location provided easy access to
skilled labour and facilities.
[17]
The township was chosen as the location for the factory due to a
favorable financial agreement with the city's communist leadership, who
promised Lamborghini a 19%
interest rate
on the company's profits when deposited in the bank, in addition to
charging zero tax on the profits. As part of the agreement, the factory
would be required to
unionize its workers.
[17]
The 350GTV was reworked into the production 350GT; the company sold 120 of them.
Despite the favorable press reviews of the 350GTV, Ferruccio
Lamborghini decided to rework the car for production. The production
model, which would be called the
350GT, was restyled by
Carrozzeria Touring of
Milan,
and a new chassis was constructed in-house. Bizzarrini's V12 engine
would be detuned for mass production, developing only 280 hp rather than
the designer's intended 360 bhp.
[18] The completed design debuted at the 1964
Geneva Motor Show,
once again garnering positive reviews from the press. Production began
shortly afterwards, and by the end of the year, cars had been built for
13 customers; Lamborghini sold each car at a loss in order to keep
prices competitive with Ferrari's. The 350GT remained in production for a
further two years, with a total of 120 cars sold.
[19]
1965–1966
The
400GT (foreground) featured an uprated 3.9 litre engine. The
Miura (background) became Lamborghini's first high-performance two-seater.
In 1965, Gian Paolo Dallara made improvements to the Bizzarrini V12,
increasing its displacement to 3.9 litres, and its power output to
320 bhp at 6,500 rpm.
[19]
The engine was first installed in the 400GT, essentially a 350GT with
the larger engine. At the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, Lamborghini debuted the
400GT 2+2, a stretched revision of the 350GT/400GT that featured
2+2 seating and other minor updates. The 400GT 2+2, like its predecessors, was well-received by the motoring press.
[20] The revenue from sales of the 2+2 allowed Lamborghini to increase the labour force at his factory to 170 employees, and expand
services offered to Lamborghini customers.
[19]
During 1965, Dallara, Stanzani, and Wallace invested their personal
time into the development of a prototype car that they envisioned as a
road car with racing pedigree, capable of winning on the track as well
as being driven on the road by enthusiasts.
[15]
They hoped to eventually sway Ferruccio Lamborghini away from the
opinion that such a car would be too expensive and distract from the
company's focus. When finally brought aboard, Lamborghini allowed his
engineers to go ahead, deciding that the car, known as the P400, would
be useful as a potential marketing tool, if nothing more.
The car's rolling chassis, featuring an unusual-for-Lamborghini
transversely mounted mid-engine layout, was displayed at the Turin Salon
in 1965, impressing showgoers. A version with bodywork styled by
Bertone was finished only days before its debut at the 1966 Geneva motor
show. As had happened three years earlier at the debut of the 350GTV,
an ill-fitting engine meant the prototype's engine bay was filled with
ballast, and the hood kept locked.
[21] The favorable reaction to the P400 at Geneva led Lamborghini to slate the car for production by 1967, under the name
Miura. The Miura's layout and styling would become the standard for mid-engine two-seat high-performance sports cars,
[22] a trend that continues today.
Lamborghini now had an offering that positioned the fledgling
automaker as a leader in the world of supercars, while the 400GT was the
sophisticated road car that Ferruccio Lamborghini had long desired to
build. By end of 1966, the workforce at the Sant'Agata factory had
expanded to 300, and enough deposits were made by prospective buyers to
begin final development on the Miura in 1967. The first four cars
produced were kept at the factory, where Bob Wallace continued to
improve and refine the car. By December, 108 cars had been delivered.
[23]
1967–1968
Debuting in 1967, the groundbreaking
Miura (foreground) became Lamborghini's first high-performance two-seater
Production of the 400GT continued, with Ferruccio Lamborghini seeking
to replace the four-year-old design. Lamborghini commissioned Touring,
which had styled the 350GT and original 400GT, to design a possible
replacement based on the same chassis. Touring's
400 GT Flying Star II did not win Lamborghini's approval. Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini, of Neri and Bonacini coachbuilders in
Modena produced their own design, the
400GT Monza, which was rejected as well.
[24] Facing mounting financial difficulties, Touring would close its doors later that year.
The Islero was a sales disappointment, but faithful to Ferruccio's ideal of a reliable grand tourer.
Ferruccio Lamborghini turned to Bertone designer Mario Marazzi, who
had formerly worked at Touring. Together with Lamborghini's engineers,
he created a four-seater named the
Marzal.
The car rode on a stretched Miura chassis, and was powered by an
in-line six-cylinder that was made from one-half of Lamborghini's V12
design.
[25] Despite an innovative design that featured
gullwing doors and enormous glass windows, Lamborghini rejected the design. Eventually, a toned-down version became the
Islero 400GT.
While the car was not the full four-seater that he desired, Ferruccio
Lamborghini thought the car represented a well-developed
gran turismo product.
[26] It failed to attract buyers, with only 125 cars produced between 1968 and 1969.
[27]
New versions of the Miura arrived in 1968; the Miura P400 S (more
commonly known as the Miura S) featured a stiffened chassis and more
power, with the V12 developing 370 bhp at 7000 rpm. At the 1968 Brussels
auto show, the automaker unveiled the Miura P400
Roadster
(more commonly the Miura Spider), an open-top version of the coupé.
Gandini, by now effectively the head of design at Bertone, had paid
great attention to the details, particularly the problems of wind
buffeting and noise insulation inherent to a roadster.
[28]
For all of Gandini's hard work, Sgarzi was forced to turn potential
buyers away, as Lamborghini and Bertone were unable to reach a consensus
on the size of a theoretical roadster production run. The Miura Spider
was sold off to an American metal alloy supplier, who wanted to use it
as a marketing device. 1968 was a positive time for all of Ferruccio's
businesses, and Automobili delivered 353 cars over the course of the
year.
[28]
In August 1968,
Gian Paolo Dallara, frustrated with Ferruccio Lamborghini's refusal to participate in motorsport, was recruited away from Sant'Agata to head the
Formula One programme at rival automaker
De Tomaso
in Modena. With profits on the rise, a racing programme would have been
a possibility, but Lamborghini remained against even the construction
of prototypes, stating his mission as: "I wish to build GT cars without
defects – quite normal, conventional but perfect – not a technical
bomb."
[29]
With cars like the Islero and the Espada, his aim to establish himself
and his cars as equal or superior to the works of Enzo Ferrari had been
satisfied. Dallara's assistant, Paulo Stanzani, would assume his old
boss' role as technical director. Unfortunately for Dallara, the De
Tomaso F1 programme was underfunded, and the automaker barely survived
the experience; the engineer left the company soon after.
[30]
1969–1970
The Espada was Lamborghini's first truly popular model, with more than 1,200 sold during its ten years of production.
Bertone was able to persuade Lamborghini to allow them to design a brand-new four-seater. The shape was penned by
Marcello Gandini, and a bodyshell delivered to Ferruccio for inspection. The businessman was less than pleased with the enormous
gullwing doors that Gandini had included, and insisted that the car would have to feature conventional doors.
[25] The car that resulted from the collaboration was debuted at the 1969 Geneva show with the name
Espada,
powered by a 3.9-litre, front-mounted evolution of the factory's V12,
producing 325 bhp. The Espada was a runaway success, with a total
production run of 1,217 cars over ten years of production.
[26]
In 1969, Automobili Lamborghini encountered problems with its fully
unionized work force, among which the machinists and fabricators had
begun to take one-hour token stoppages as part of a national campaign
due to strained relations between the metal workers' union and Italian
industry.
[30]
Ferruccio Lamborghini, who often rolled up his sleeves and joined in
the work on the factory floor, was able to motivate his staff to
continue working towards their common goal despite the disruptions.
The Jarama was a shortened, sportier version of the Espada.
Throughout that year, Lamborghini's product range, then consisting of
the Islero, the Espada, and the Miura S, received upgrades across the
board, with the Miura receiving a power boost, the Islero being upgraded
to "S" trim, and the Espada gaining comfort and performance upgrades
which allowed it to reach speeds of up to 160 mph (260 km/h). The Islero
was slated to be replaced by a shortened yet higher-performing version
of the Espada, the
Jarama 400GT. The 3.9-litre V12 was retained, its
compression ratio increasing to 10.5:1.
[31]
The Urraco was the first clean-sheet Lamborghini design since the 350GTV.
By the time the Jarama was unveiled at the 1970 Geneva show, Paulo
Stanzani was at work on a new clean-sheet design, which would use no
parts from previous Lamborghini cars. Changes in tax laws and a desire
to make full use of the factory's manufacturing capacity meant that the
Italian automaker would follow the direction taken by Ferrari, with its
Dino 246 and Porsche, with its
911, and produce a smaller, V8-powered
2+2 car, the
Urraco.
The 2+2 body style was selected as a concession to practicality, with
Ferruccio acknowledging that Urraco owners might have children.
[31] The single overhead cam
V8
designed by Stanzani produced 220 bhp at 5000 rpm. Bob Wallace
immediately began road testing and development; the car was to be
presented at the 1970 Turin motor show.
[31]
In 1970, Lamborghini began development of a replacement for the
Miura, which was a pioneering model, but had interior noise levels that
Ferruccio Lamborghini found unacceptable and nonconforming to his brand
philosophy.
[32]
Engineers designed a new, longer chassis that placed the engine
longitudinally, further away from the driver's seat. Designated the
LP500 for its 4.97-litre version of the company's V12, the prototype was styled by
Marcello Gandini at Bertone. The car that was presented was debuted at the 1971
Geneva Motor Show, alongside the final revision of the Miura, the P400
SuperVeloce. Completing the Lamborghini range were the Espada 2, the Urraco P250, and the Jarama GT.
[33]
1971–1972
As a world financial crisis began to take hold, Ferruccio
Lamborghini's companies began to run into financial difficulties. In
1971, Lamborghini's tractor company, which exported around half of its
production, ran into difficulties. Cento, Trattori's South African
importer, cancelled all its orders. After staging a
successful coup d'état, the new military government of
Bolivia cancelled a large order of tractors that was partially ready to ship from
Genoa.
Trattori's employees, like Automobili's, were unionized and could not
be laid off. In 1972, Lamborghini sold his entire holding in Trattori to
SAME, another tractor builder.
[7][34]
The entire Lamborghini group was now finding itself in financial
troubles. Development at the automaker slowed; the production version of
the LP500 missed the 1972 Geneva Show, and only the P400 GTS version of
the Jarama was on display. Faced with a need to cut costs, Paulo
Stanzani set aside the LP500's powerplant, slating a smaller, 4-litre
engine for production.
[35]
Ferruccio Lamborghini began courting buyers for Automobili and
Trattori; he entered negotiations with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy
Swiss businessman and friend of Ferruccio's, as well as being the owner
of an Islero and an Espada.
[35]
Ferruccio sold Rossetti 51% of the company for US$600,000, thereby
relinquishing control of the automaker he had founded. He continued to
work at the Sant'Agata factory; Rossetti rarely involved himself in
Automobili's affairs.
[34]
1973–1977
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. Sales of Lamborghini's exotic sports cars, propelled by
high-powered engines with high fuel consumption, suffered (the 1986
Countach, powered by a 5.2-litre evolution of the V12 engine, had a 6 mpg
-US (39 L/100 km; 7.2 mpg
-imp) city and 10 mpg
-US (24 L/100 km; 12 mpg
-imp) highway
United States Environmental Protection Agency rating.
[36]
The Countach, then the most popular and successful Lamborghini in history, was in production from 1974 to 1988.
In 1974, Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his remaining 49% stake in the company to René Leimer, a friend of Georges-Henri Rossetti.
[1] Having severed all connections with the cars that bore his name, he retired to an
estate on the shores of
Lake Trasimeno, in the
frazione of Panicarola in
Castiglione del Lago, a town in the province of
Perugia in the
Umbria region of central Italy, where he would remain until his last days.
[6]
The car shown as the LP500 in 1971 entered production in 1974 as the
Countach LP400,
powered by a smaller, 4.0-litre V12. The first production model was
delivered in 1974. In 1976, the Urraco P300 was revamped into the
Silhouette, featuring a
Targa top
and a 3-litre V8. Its poor build quality, reliability, and ergonomics
all worked against it, as did the fact that it could only be imported
into the U.S. via the "
grey market". Only 54 were produced.
[37]
The Countach was also hampered by its lack of direct participation in
the American market until the LP500 version, released in 1982.
In the 1977 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini unveiled its first prototype military vehicle, the "
Cheetah", powered by a rear-mounted Chrysler V8 engine. However, the only prototype was destroyed during testing by the U.S. military,
[38] causing the company to lose that contract, which ultimately led to the cancellation of a contract from
BMW to develop the
M1 sports car.
1978–1986
The Jalpa, an update of the failed Silhouette, was the only new car released during receivership.
As the years passed, Lamborghini's situation became even more dire;
the company entered bankruptcy in 1978, and the Italian courts took
control. In 1980, the Swiss Mimran brothers (Jean-Claude and
Patrick),
[39] famed food entrepreneurs
[40] with a passion for sports cars, were appointed to administer the company during its
receivership. During administration, the automaker reworked the failed Silhouette into the
Jalpa,
which was powered by a 3.5-litre V8 that had been modified by former
Maserati great, Giulio Alfieri. More successful than the Silhouette, the
Jalpa came closer to achieving the goal of a more affordable, livable
version of the Countach.
[41] The
Countach was also updated, finally allowing it to be sold in the U.S. with the release of the LP500 model in 1982.
[42]
By 1984, the company was officially in the hands of the Swiss. The
Mimrans began a comprehensive restructuring programme, injecting large
amounts of capital into the floundering automaker. The Sant'Agata
facilities were rehabilitated, and a worldwide hiring campaign to find
new engineering and design talent began in earnest.
[1]
The LM002 sport-utility vehicle was introduced under Mimran ownership.
The immediate results of the investment were good. A Countach
"Quattrovalvole", producing a mighty 455 PS (335 kW; 449 hp), was released in 1984; the fumbling Cheetah project resulted in the release of the
Lamborghini LM002 sport utility vehicle
in 1986. Lamborghini were also looking toward the future, displaying
the Countach Evoluzione, a prototype supercar completely made of carbon
fiber, to the international press in 1986. The Evoluzione was shown
during its testing schedule, which ended with its destruction in a crash
test.
[citation needed]
However, despite the Mimrans' efforts, the investments proved
insufficient to revive the company. Seeking a large, stable financial
partner, the brothers met with representatives of one of America's "Big
Three" automakers, the
Chrysler Corporation.
[1]
1987–1993
In April 1987, in an acquisition spearheaded by Chrysler chairman
Lee Iacocca, the American company took control of the Italian automaker, after paying out US$33 million
[Notes 2] to the Mimrans.
[43]
According to Jolliffe, the Mimran brothers were the only owners of
Lamborghini to ever make money out of the company, having sold it for
many times the dollar amount they paid for it six years earlier.
[43]
Iacocca, who had previously orchestrated a near-miraculous turnaround
of Chrysler after the company nearly fell into bankruptcy, carried out
his decision to purchase Lamborghini with no challenges from the board
of directors. Chrysler people were appointed to Lamborghini's board, but
many of the company's key members remained in managing positions,
including Alfieri, Marmiroli, Venturelli, and Ceccarani. Ubaldo Sgarzi
continued in his role as head of the sales department.
[44] To begin its revival, Lamborghini received a cash injection to the tune of $50 million.
[1]
The automaker's new owner was interested in entering the "extra
premium" sports car market, which it estimated at about 5,000 cars per
year, worldwide. Chrysler aimed to produce a car to compete with the
Ferrari 328 by 1991,
[44]
and also wanted the Italians to produce an engine that could be used in
a Chrysler car for the American market. The decision was made to
finally take the company into motorsport; the effort would be known as
Lamborghini Engineering S.p.A., and would develop engines for
Grand Prix teams. The new division was based in
Modena, and given an initial budget of $5 million.
[45]
Danielle Audetto would be the manager, and Emile Novaro the president;
their first recruit was Mauro Forghieri, a man with a stellar reputation
in the world of motorsport, who had formerly managed Ferrari's Formula 1
team. Forghieri set about designing a 3.5-litre V12 engine, independent
of road-car engine design undertaken at Sant'Agata.
[46]
Forghieri designed a V12 engine for Lamborghini's Formula 1 venture.
At the time, Lamborghini was working on a successor to the Countach, the
Diablo. The car's original design had been penned by
Marcello Gandini, the veteran who had penned the exterior appearances of the Miura and the Countach while working for 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 corners of Gandini's original design; the Italian was left
famously unimpressed with the finished product.
[47][48]
The Diablo had been intended for release in time for September 1988,
when Lamborghini would celebrate its 25th anniversary; once it was clear
that mark would be missed, a final version of the Countach was rushed
into production instead.
[49] The Anniversary Countach was later acclaimed as the finest version of the car to be built.
[50]
By the end of 1987, Emile Novaro had returned from his long recovery,
and used his authority to halt Chrysler's increasing interference in
the development of the Diablo. Much to the chagrin of the Fighting Bull,
Chrysler exhibited a four-door concept car at the
Frankfurt Auto Show, badged as a 'Chrysler powered by Lamborghini'. The
Portofino was poorly received by the motoring press and Lamborghini's employees alike,
[51] but went on to become the inspiration for the
Dodge Intrepid sedan.
In April 1988, the
Bertone Genesis, a
Quattrovalvole V12-powered, Lamborghini-branded vehicle resembling a
minivan
was debuted at the Turin motor show. The unusual car, intended to gauge
public reactions, was abandoned, a misfit in both Lamborghini's and
Chrysler's product ranges.
[51]
The Genesis had been commissioned alongside the new "baby Lambo" that
would replace the Jalpa, occupying the then-empty space below the Diablo
in Lamborghini's lineup. The project had been allocated a $25 million
budget, with the prospect of selling more than 2,000 cars per year.
[51]
The Diablo was the fastest car in production when it was released in 1990.
The Diablo was released to the public on 21 January 1990, at an event at the
Hotel de Paris in
Monte Carlo. The Diablo was the fastest car in production in the world at the time,
[citation needed]
and sales were so brisk that Lamborghini began to turn a profit. The
company's U.S. presence had previously consisted of a loosely affiliated
and disorganized private dealer network; Chrysler established an
efficient franchise with full service and spare parts support. The
company also began to develop its V12 engines for
powerboat racing. Profits increased past the $1 million mark in 1991, and Lamborghini enjoyed a positive era.
[1]
The uptick in fortunes was to be brief; in 1992, sales crashed, as
the $239,000 Diablo proved ultimately to be inaccessible to American
enthusiasts. With Lamborghini bleeding money, Chrysler decided that the
automaker was no longer producing enough cars to justify its investment.
1994–1997
Setiawan Djody also owned supercar maker Vector and hoped that
Lamborghini and Vector would collaborate to the benefit of both
companies. The
Vector M12 pictured here has a Lamborghini V-12 engine
Chrysler began looking for someone to take Lamborghini off its hands, and found it in a holding company called
MegaTech. The company was registered in
Bermuda and wholly owned by
Indonesian conglomerate SEDTCO Pty., headed by businessmen
Setiawan Djody and
Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of then-
Indonesian President
Suharto.
By February 1994, after $40 million had changed hands, Lamborghini had
left Italian ownership, and MegaTech took over the automaker, its Modena
racing engine factory, and the American dealer interest, Lamborghini
USA.
[1] Djody, who also owned a 35% stake in troubled American supercar manufacturer
Vector Motors, thought Vector and Lamborghini might be able to collaborate to improve their output. Michael J. Kimberly, formerly of
Lotus,
Jaguar and executive vice-president of
General Motors,
was appointed president and managing director. After reviewing the
entire Lamborghini operation, Kimberly concluded that the company needed
to expand its offerings from more than just one or two models, and
provide a car accessible to American car enthusiasts. He implemented a
marketing strategy to raise awareness of Lamborghini's heritage and
mystique. In 1995, Lamborghini produced a hit, when the Diablo was
updated to the top-end
SuperVeloce model. But in 1995, even as
sales were climbing, the company was restructured, with Tommy Suharto's
V'Power Corporation holding a 60% interest, MyCom Bhd., a Malaysian
company controlled by Jeff Yap, holding the other 40%.
[1]
The Diablo would be Lamborghini's mainstay throughout the 90s, and was
continually updated throughout the various changes in ownership.
Never leaving
the red
despite its increase in sales, in November 1996 Lamborghini hired
Vittorio di Capua as President and CEO, hoping that the veteran of more
than 40 years at auto giant
Fiat S.p.A.
could finally make the sports car maker profitable again. Di Capua
immediately launched cost-cutting measures, letting go of a number of
company executives and consultants, and overhauling production in order
to achieve a 50 percent gain in productivity. In 1997, Lamborghini
finally passed its break-even point, selling 209 Diablos, thirteen more
than it needed to be profitable. Di Capua also leveraged the Lamborghini
name and identity, implementing aggressive merchandising and licensing
deals. Development of the "baby Lambo" finally began, moving forward
with a $100 million budget.
[1]
1998–present
The
financial crisis that gripped Asia in July of that year set the stage for another ownership change. The new chairman of
Volkswagen AG,
Ferdinand Piëch, grandson of Volkswagen's founder,
Ferdinand Porsche,
went on a buying spree through 1998, which included the acquisition of
Lamborghini for around $110 million. Lamborghini was purchased through
Volkswagen's luxury car division,
AUDI AG. Audi spokesman Juergen de Graeve told the
Wall Street Journal
that Lamborghini "could strengthen Audi's sporty profile, and on the
other hand Lamborghini could benefit from our technical expertise."
[1]
Only five years after leaving American ownership, Lamborghini was now
under German control. Yet again, the troubled Italian automaker was
reorganized, becoming restructured into a holding company, Lamborghini
Holding S.p.A., with Audi president
Franz-Josef Paefgen
as its chairman. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. became a subsidiary of
the holding company, allowing it to focus specifically on designing and
building cars while separate interests took care of the company's
licensing deals and marine engine manufacturing. Vittorio Di Capua
originally remained in charge, but eventually resigned in June 1999. He
was replaced by Giuseppe Greco, another industry veteran with experience
at Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari. The Diablo's final evolution, the GT,
was released, but not exported to the U.S., its low-volume production
making it uneconomical to go through the process of gaining emissions
and crashworthiness approval.
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, known internally as Project L140,
represented the rebirth of Lamborghini, and was named, fittingly, for
the bull that originally sired the Miura line that had inspired
Ferruccio Lamborghini almost 40 years before:
Murciélago. The new flagship car was styled by Belgian
Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini's new head of design.
The "Baby Lambo", envisioned in 1997, was introduced in 2003 as the
Gallardo.
Under German ownership, Lamborghini found stability that it had not
seen in many years. In 2003, Lamborghini followed up the Murciélago with
the smaller, V10-equipped
Gallardo, intended to be more accessible and more livable than the Murciélago. 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 car during his appointment, the
Miura Concept of 2006.
Towards the end of the 2000s, Lamborghini produced a number of revisions of the Murciélago and Gallardo. The
Reventón,
a limited-edition derivative of the Murciélago featuring revised,
angular styling, was released in 2008, with a roadster following the
year after.
The final update to the Murciélago came in 2009 with the release of the
LP 670–4 SV
("SuperVeloce"). The 4,000th Murciélago was produced in 2010. The car
was delivered to China. At the time, the growing Asia-Pacific vehicle
market represented 25 percent of Lamborghini's sales.
[52]
A slide in Lamborghini's sales that began at a high of 2,580 units in 2007 was attributed to the effects of the
world financial crisis. CEO Stephan Winkelmann predicted that poor sales figures for supercars would continue through 2011.
[53]
Production of the Murciélago ended on 5 November 2010, after a production run of 4,099 cars.
[54][55][56]
The
Lamborghini Aventador
has replaced the Lamborghini Murciélago. It was unveiled on 1 March
2011 at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The Aventador has a top speed of
349 km/h (217 mph).
[57]
At the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Lamborghini revealed the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale.
[58]
Vehicle lineup
Current range
As of the 2012 model year, Lamborghini's product range consists entirely of mid-engine two-seat sports cars: the V12-powered
Aventador LP700-4, and variants of the smaller, V10-powered Gallardo: LP550-2, LP550-2 Bicolore,
LP560-4 and
LP560-4 Spyder, and LP570-4 Superleggera and LP570-4 Spyder Performante.
[59] Limited-production editions of these cars are also produced from time to time.
[edit] Concept models
The Concept S, a Gallardo derivative.
The Estoque, a 2008 sedan concept.
Throughout its history, Lamborghini has envisioned and presented a variety of
concept cars, beginning in 1963 with the very first Lamborghini prototype, the
350GTV. Other famous models include Bertone's 1967
Marzal, 1974
Bravo, and 1980
Athon, Chrysler's 1987
Portofino, the
Italdesign-styled
Cala from 1995, the
Zagato-built
Raptor from 1996, and
Lamborghini Pregunta.
A retro-styled
Lamborghini Miura concept car,
the first creation of chief designer Walter de'Silva, was presented in
2006. President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann denied that the concept would
be put into production, saying that the Miura concept was "a
celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro
design is not what we are here for. So we won’t do the [new] Miura.”
[60]
At the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini revealed the
Estoque, a four-door
sedan concept. Although there had been much speculation regarding the Estoque's eventual production,
[61][62]
Lamborghini management has not made a decision regarding production of
what might be the first four-door car to roll out of the Sant'Agata
factory.
[63]
At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini unveiled the
Sesto Elemento.
The concept car is made almost entirely of carbon fibre making it
extremely light, weighing only 999 kg. The Sesto Elemento shares the
same V10 engine found in the Lamborghini Gallardo. Lamborghini hopes to
signal a shift in the company's direction from making super cars focused
on top speed to producing more agile, track focused cars with the Sesto
Elemento. The concept car can reach 0–62 in 2.5 seconds and can reach a
top speed of over 180 mph.
[64]
At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador J - a roofless, windowless version of the
Lamborghini Aventador. The Aventador J uses the same 700hp engine and seven-speed transmission as the standard Aventador.
[65]
Motorsport
The Miura began as a clandestine prototype, a car that had racing pedigree in a company that was entirely against motorsport.
In contrast to his rival Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini had
decided early on that there would be no factory-supported racing of
Lamborghinis, viewing motorsport as too expensive and too draining on
company resources.
[citation needed]
This was unusual for the time, as many sports car manufacturers sought
to demonstrate the speed, reliability, and technical superiority through
motorsport participation. Enzo Ferrari in particular was known for
considering his road car business merely a source of funding for his
participation in motor racing. Ferrucio's policy led to tensions between
him and his engineers, many of whom were racing enthusiasts; some had
previously worked at Ferrari. When Dallara, Stanzani, and Wallace began
dedicating their spare time to the development of the P400 prototype,
they designed it to be a road car with racing potential, one that could
win on the track and also be driven on the road by enthusiasts.
[15]
When Ferruccio discovered the project, he allowed them to go ahead,
seeing it as a potential marketing device for the company, while
insisting that it would not be raced. The P400 went on to become the
Miura. The closest the company came to building a true race car under
Lamborghini's supervision were a few highly modified prototypes,
including those built by factory test driver Bob Wallace, such as the
Miura SV-based "Jota" and the Jarama S-based "Bob Wallace Special".
Under the management of Georges-Henri Rossetti, Lamborghini entered into an agreement with
BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for
homologation.
However, Lamborghini was unable to fulfill its part of the agreement.
The car was eventually developed in-house by the BMW Motorsport
Division, and was manufactured and sold as the
BMW M1.
[66][67]
The 1990
Lotus 102 featured a Lamborghini V12, later replaced with a more reliable
Judd V8 in 102B version.
In the 1980s, Lamborghini developed the QVX for the 1986
Group C
championship season. One car was built, but lack of sponsorship caused
it to miss the season. The QVX competed in only one race, the
non-championship 1986 Southern Suns 500 km race at
Kyalami in South Africa, driven by
Tiff Needell. Despite the car finishing better than it started, sponsorship could once again not be found and the programme was cancelled.
[68]
Lamborghini was an engine supplier in
Formula One between the
1989 and
1993 Formula One seasons. It supplied engines to
Larrousse (1989–1990,1992–1993),
Lotus (1990),
Ligier (1991),
Minardi (1992), and to the
Modena
team in 1991. While the latter is commonly referred to as a factory
team, the company saw themselves as a supplier, not a backer. The 1992
Larrousse–Lamborghini was largely uncompetitive but noteworthy in its
tendency to spew oil from its exhaust system. Cars following closely
behind the Larrousse were commonly coloured yellowish-brown by the end
of the race.
[citation needed]
In late 1991, a Lamborghini Formula One motor was used in the
Konrad KM-011 Group C sports car, but the car only lasted a few races before the project was canceled. The same engine, re-badged a
Chrysler, Lamborghini's then-parent company, was tested by
McLaren towards the end of the 1993 season, with the intent of using it during the
1994 season. Although driver
Ayrton Senna was reportedly impressed with the engine's performance, McLaren pulled out of negotiations, choosing a
Peugeot engine instead, and Chrysler ended the project.
A Murcielago R-GT participating in the FIA GT Championship at
Silverstone in 2006.
Two racing versions of the Diablo were built for the Diablo
Supertrophy, a single-model racing series held annually from 1996 to
1999. In the first year, the model used in the series was the Diablo
SVR, while the Diablo 6.0 GTR was used for the remaining three years.
[69][70] Lamborghini developed the Murciélago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the
FIA GT Championship, the
Super GT Championship and the
American Le Mans Series in 2004. The car's highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT Championship at
Valencia, where the car entered by
Reiter Engineering finished third from a fifth-place start.
[71][72] In 2006, during the opening round of the Super GT championship at
Suzuka, a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class) by an R-GT. A
GT3 version of the Gallardo has been developed by
Reiter Engineering.
[73] A Murciélago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by
Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke, won the opening round of the
FIA GT Championship held at
Zhuhai International Circuit, achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini.
[74]
Identity
The Lamborghini wordmark, as displayed on the back of its cars.
The world of
bullfighting is a key part of Lamborghini's identity.
[75][76][77] In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini visited the Seville ranch of
Don Eduardo Miura, a renowned breeder of
Spanish fighting bulls. Lamborghini, a
Taurus himself, was so impressed by the majestic Miura animals that he decided to adopt a raging
bull as the
emblem for the automaker he would open shortly.
[12]
After producing two cars with alphanumeric designations, Lamborghini
once again turned to the bull breeder for inspiration. Don Eduardo was
filled with pride when he learned that Ferruccio had named a car for his
family and their line of bulls; the fourth Miura to be produced was
unveiled to him at his ranch in Seville.
[12][21]
The automaker would continue to draw upon the bullfighting connection in future years. The
Islero was named for the Miura bull that killed the famed
bullfighter Manolete in 1947.
Espada is the Spanish word for
sword,
sometimes used to refer to the bullfighter himself. The Jarama's name
carried a special double meaning; intended to refer only to the historic
bullfighting region in Spain, Ferruccio was concerned about confusion
with the also historic
Jarama motor racing track.
[31]
The Diablo (background) was named for a legendary bull, while the Countach (foreground) broke from the bullfighting tradition.
After christening the
Urraco after a bull breed, in 1974, Lamborghini broke from tradition, naming the Countach not for a bull, but for
countach! (pronounced
[kunˈtɑtʃ] ( listen)), an exclamation of astonishment used by
Piedmontese men upon sighting a beautiful woman.
[78] Legend has it that stylist
Nuccio Bertone uttered the word in surprise when he first laid eyes on the Countach prototype, "Project 112".
[79]
The LM002 (LM for Lamborghini Militaire) sport utility vehicle and the
Silhouette (named after the popular racing category of the time) were
other exceptions to the tradition.
The Jalpa of 1982 was named for a bull breed; Diablo, for the
Duke of Veragua's ferocious bull famous for fighting an epic battle against "El Chicorro" in Madrid in 1869;
[46][47] Murciélago,
the legendary bull whose life was spared by "El Lagartijo" for his
performance in 1879; Gallardo, named for one of the five ancestral
castes of the Spanish fighting bull breed;
[80] and Reventón, the bull that defeated young Mexican
torero Félix Guzmán in 1943. The
Estoque concept of 2008 was named for the
estoc, the sword traditionally used by
matadors during bullfights.
[81]
Corporate affairs
Currently, Lamborghini is structured as part of the
Lamborghini Group, consisting of Audi-owned holding company
Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., which controls three separate companies:
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., manufacturer of cars;
Motori Marini Lamborghini S.p.A., maker of marine engines; and
Lamborghini ArtiMarca S.p.A., the licensing and merchandising company.
[1] The group additionally contains Volkswagen Group Italia S.p.A. (formerly AUTOGERMA S.p.A.
[82]), which sells Audi and other Volkswagen brands vehicles in Italy, and Volkswagen Group Firenze S.p.A.
[83] In May 2010, the Italian
coachbuilder Italdesign Giugiaro
came under the control of Lamborghini Holding, as the Volkswagen Group
purchased 90.1% of the company's shares from the Giugiaro family.
[84]
The most important markets in 2004 for Automobili Lamborghini's
sports cars are the U.S. (41%), Germany (13%), Great Britain (9%), and
Japan (8%). Prior to the launch of the Gallardo, the company produced
around 400 cars per year.
[2][unreliable source?]
Motori Marini Lamborghini produces a large V12 marine engine block for use in powerboat racing, notably the
World Offshore Series Class 1. The engine displaces around 8,171 cc (499 cu in) with an output of around 940 hp (700 kW).
[85]
Automobili Lamborghini Artimarca licenses Automobili Lamborghini's
name and image for use on other companies' products and accessories.
Examples include a variety of apparel items, various
model car lines, and the
ASUS Lamborghini VX series
notebook computers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini
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