The Lamborghini Journal

The Lamborghini Journal - Chapter 1 The Man Behind The Legend Ferruccio Lamborghini

Compiled By Technomaniac

millionaire who build his fortune by building tractors Ferruccio Lamborghini was a self made millionaire, from army surplus left by the Allied Forces back in 1945. He started the tractor business from a small garage but soon demand for his very powerful tractors rose. And soon he was left with surplus money, so started an oil burner and air conditioning systems as well. All the businesses flourished well and he became the wealthiest man in Italy. He could afford just about everything he wanted, and as with most of the super rich, he started collecting llecting expensive cars including high speed GT cars like the Mercedes SL300 and Ferrari 250 GTS.

But when his Ferrari started giving problems with the clutch and the local workshop couldn't fix this problem, Ferruccio decided to drive to Modena and confront Enzo Ferrari himself. But Enzo,, who was known for his arrogance, told this 'farmer', "Lamborghini, you may be able to drive a tractor, but you will never be able to handle a Ferrari properly". Ferruccio was insulted and furious and decided to show Enzo how he should build GT cars. And lo behold, Automobili Lamborghini was born!

Automobili Lamborghini SpA was founded in early 1963, Ferruccio bought a green green-field site of 90,000 square metres near Bologna, in SantAgata Bologna and work on his brand new factory commenced. The building was erected in only eight months.

The factory used a lot of open spaces and glass everywhere, a novel concept at the time and cost him about 500,000,000 Lire, a humongous amount. The entire factory was surrounded by a road and in front of the main office building a nice garden was made. The large glass hall welcomed visitors and Ferruccio’s own office was located at the front of this central building.

Now Sig. Ferruccio Lamborghini started looking for the top men in the business and was able to recruit the very best of Ferrari engineers like Giotto Bizzarrini to design and build a V-12 for Lamborghini. The engine was finished soon and was able to pump out about 400 bhp at 11,000 rpm, but Ferruccio wanted a GT car and not a race car, so the engine was detuned to 'only' 280 bhp at 7,000 rpm. After the completion of the V 12, he left.

By that time two members were added to the technical team at SantAgata, Giampaolo Dallara and Giampaolo Stanzani joined Ferruccio, and in early 1964 Ubaldo Sgarzi started working for the new Automobili Lamborghini SpA Company. All from under Enzo's nose. Ferruccio had a fabulous team of engineers surrounding him to make his dream car, but a car has to be road tested. So he made an offer to Bob Wallace he couldn’t refuse and took him in to the Lamborghini family.

Ferruccio Lamborghini was passionate about bull fighting, hence the emblem and he specifically named all his cars after ferocious bulls from the arena.

1963 - 1966 Lamborghini 350 GT

The Lamborghini 350 GTV prototype was the first car made by Automobilia Lamborghini shown to the public on the Turin Auto Show of 1963, it was however not built in this new factory, because the tooling equipment wasn't delivered yet.

In 1964 the first Ferrari Lamborghini 350 GTs were crafted in this new plant. Carrozzeria Touring supplied the bodywork the chassis and the engines were mounted together complete with leather interior.

The 350 GT featured a 3.5 L quad quad-cam V12 engine, independent ndependent rear suspension (while Ferrari still used live rear axles) and a controversial 2+1 semi semi-fastback fastback body by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. The 350GT generally drew high praises at the time for its flexible and high-revving revving engine, its stable cornering, cornering, even on rough surfaces, and its high level of finish. 120 copies were built from 1963 to 1966.

1966 - 1968 Lamborghini 400GT

The Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 was a 2+2 2+2-seated seated sports car from the Italian manufacturer Lamborghini, successor to the 350GT. First presented at the 1966 Geneva Auto Show. Compared to its predecessor the engine was enlarged to 4.0 L, increasing the power to 320 bhp. The 400GT 2+2 was actually a different body from the 350GT, with a longer wheelbase, different roofline, and some sheetmetal changes throughout the car.

The larger body shape enabled the +2 seating to be installed in the rear, where the 350GT only had room for luggage or +1 seating.

The bodywork was designed by Carrozzeria Touring. The 400GT 2+2 also had a Lamborghini designed gearbox, with Porsche style synchromesh on all gears including, which greatly improved the drivetrain.

A total of 247 units were built from 1966 to 1968, when it was replaced with the Islero. There was a variant of the 350GT with the 4L V12 fitted to it, which was also called the 400GT. Only 23 of these smaller coupes were built.

1968 - 1970 Lamborghini Islero & Islero S

Lamborghini Islero was produced between 1968 1968-1970 1970 and featuring the Lamborghini V12 engine. It was the replacement for the 400GT. The car debuted at the 1968 Geneva Auto Show. The Islero was named after a bull that killed famed matador Manuel Rodriguez "Manolete" on August 28, 1947. The Islero was designed by Carrozzeria Marazzi. The design was essentially a reworked 400GT, but the track was altered to allow for wider tires. The Islero had good outward visibility, roomier interior, and much improved improved soundproofing. All nice improvements over previous models. It had a 325 hp, 4.0 L V12 engine, 5 speed transmission, fully independent suspension, and disc brakes. Its top speed was rated at 155 mph. Only 125 Isleros were built.

An updated Islero, o, dubbed the Islero S was released in 1969 with the engine producing 350 hp. There were quite a few styling changes too - Brightwork blind slots on the front fenders, an enlarged hood scoop, slightly flaired wheel arches, tinted windows, round side marker lights, a fixed section in the door windows, a revamped dashboard and interior. The top speed of the S improved to 161 mph or 260 km/h.

Only 100 examples of the Islero S were built, bringing the production total of the Islero nameplate to 225 cars. Ferruccio rruccio Lamborghini himself had an Islero as his daily drive car during that era.

1968 - 1978 Lamborghini Espada

The Lamborghini Espada is a grand tourer which was built by Lamborghini between 1968 and 1978. Based on the Marzal show car, displayed a att the 1967 Geneva Auto Show, in 1968 Lamborghini introduced its first four seater model, the Espada. The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign. The Espada featured all-round all round independent suspension and disc brakes. The interior trim was very luxurious.

The 4.0 L V12 putting out 325 bhp was front mounted and drove the rear wheels, though later SII and SIII models came with 350bhp. Access to this engine was made easy by a liftlift up front which featured exposed headlamps (most supercars of this era e had "pop-up lamps".)

The Espada had fully independent suspension and four wheel disc brakes. Most transmissions were manual, and the Espada also introduced one of the first automatic transmissions that were able to absorb the torque of a large sporti sporting V12. It had unusual gearing, with 3 ratios: drive, 1 and reverse. During its 10 year production the car underwent some changes, and three different models were produced. These were the S1 (1968 (1968-1970), 1970), the S2 (1970 (1970-1972) and the S3 (1972-1978). Each model el featured engine power improvements, but only minor details were changed with the exterior design.

The interior was altered dramatically between each model. An all new dashboard and steering wheel was installed for the S2, and the interior was again revamped for the S3. In 1970, power assisted steering was offered as an option, and in 1974 an automatic transmission was also offered. In 1976 impact bumpers had to be installed to meet United States safety requirements, and some people consider cars produced with them to be the S4, but Lamborghini did not officially change the designation. Near the end of tthe Espada's life, Bertone designed a four door prototype, which was never put into production.

1217 cars were made, making it the most successful Lamborghini model at the time.

Technomaniac